Vermillion
by Murasaki Kaida
Summary: ShinoTen AU. Tenten is the PA for one of the world's biggest rock bands. But is it the frontman she wants, or the lead guitarist who's catching her eye? AU, Crack, Rock Music abound. Also with KibaHina, ShikaIno, HidaTema, GaaSaku. Rated for language.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto, Kishi does.

NOTES: Okay, my lungs are dying and I'm tired, so here's the easiest way to lay it out:

1. This was intended for Metamorphoze originally - I haven't updated my other fics in a while, and I apologise. I intend on doing so as soon as uni is calmed down and I can actually breathe without the aid of an inhaler. However, like Plastic Fangs, this story grew and grew until Metamorphoze wouldn't be able to contain it anymore. So here it is.

2. All of the songs in this story, aside from the ones openly stated as being used as covers, are being used as songs Shino's fictional band, The Sacred, wrote and performed. Obviously the songs were written and belong to the bands/ghost writers, not these fictional characters. But you have to be clear on these things, of course. All set lists for concerts are given at the beginning of each chapter, crediting the actual musicians.

3. There is Neji bashing here. I hate Neji on the best of days, I admit - that's just my personal taste. I do it because a) it's funny to me and b) I see it as helping Shino in his goal to getting tail. Go Shino! But in this fic, Neji's being bashed exceptionally hard because fame has gone to his head. He's the frontman of one of the world's biggest bands - it's gonna happen. So please, Neji fans, don't take this personally. It's a fictional and free fun world.

4. I don't know what it's like to be a PA for a rock band, or anything for that matter. I've also never been backstage at any of these venues, nor do I know how many songs are usually on set lists. I've bluffed my way through this and focused on the pure entertainment value.

5. This came from a dream I had, where I saw Shino as a frontman at a concert and he was singing Tenacious D's The Metal. Rel encouraged me to write rockstar!Shino up (she's the driving force behind most of what I do!) and here he is.

Hope I didn't forget anything there. Please read, enjoy and review!

* * *

SET LIST FOR THE EARL'S COURT SHOW

DragonForce – Through the Fire and the Flames

Creed – My Sacrifice

Matchbox 20 – Busted

Staind – Epiphany

Velvet Revolver – Slither

* * *

Tenten darted through throngs of backstage hands, iced water bottles and cigarette packs in her hands. She jumped over cables and discarded instrument stands, avoiding frantic people and blowing brown strands away from her face.

Summer had set in thickly in England, ruining every single stereotype Tenten had readily believed, and beneath her staff tee and cut-off jean shorts sweat clung to her skin and settled in the small of her back.

She scanned the sea of faces for a familiar person, setting the bottles and cigarettes down on one of the tables. She wiped sweat off of her brow, suddenly feeling the heady thrum of her pulse in her neck. She wasn't sure if her slick skin was because of the heat or her nerves.

Tenten spotted a familiar mop of crimson hair and jogged over, avoiding rushed stagehands. "Gaara!"

The sullen redhead looked up from his slumped position against the wall, a shiny black Stratocastor in his lap. It was amazing how with the tattoo on his forehead, the guitar, the black eyeliner and clothing, and cigarette hanging from his lower lip...well, he looked like a member of a band.

But he was just a young highschool dropout with a hell of a criminal record to his name.

"Have you seen your sister?"

Sabaku Temari was the manager of the headlining band, The Sacred, and Tenten had to report back to her and wait for more orders while the band did their thing. Only problem was, Temari tended to be so busy that she had a habit of disappearing without leaving any breadcrumbs whatsoever.

Gaara frowned slightly. He looked down at his Strat and Tenten briefly had the feeling that he was going to ignore her. He fiddled with a spare cigarette stuck on the excess guitar string that poked up from a tuning knob. "Merch stand," he said finally.

Tenten nodded. He was a strange kid...but not bad. If you were lucky enough to draw conversation out of him, he was pretty interesting if not a bit radical. And he was bizarrely beautiful, in a terrifying kind of way.

She didn't understand why the band had let Gaara tag along, aside from the fact that he was the manager and keyboard player's brother. And the drummer's stoner partner, but still...Gaara was a troubled high school toss-out. Real talented on rhythm, but she felt uncomfortable with him along for the tour. As if letting him join in was like encouraging his bad behaviour.

"Thanks," Tenten said, and tossed a spare pack of cigarettes into his lap. Gaara waved a hand that could have been thanks or dismissal before tucking the packet into the waistband of his jeans.

Tenten hurried round to the side doors. The air was so thick that it was like passing through treacle, and her muscles tensed when she heard the crowd's mantra starting up, chanting names and cheers over and over again until they were all chanting one thing, their voices loud enough to shake the walls.

Even though she wasn't in the band – even though her job was to pamper them and run errands – she still felt a rush of nervous exhilaration that was probably on par with theirs every time a gig approached.

The Sacred...well...they'd fast become one of the world's leading bands. She'd known some of them before that – she'd grown up a few doors down from their vocalist. Maybe that was how she'd lucked out and landed the PA job. Well, that and the fact that their manager had taken a shine to her.

But they were big. VERY big. They'd done soundtracks and cover songs, world tours and special appearances. This world tour was finishing up right here, in the UK, at Earl's Court, Brixton and the O2 stadium.

Tenten came out of the side door, flashing a grin to the bouncer guarding it, and looked around Earl's Court Olympia.

Ho-LY shit.

It was packed. People were shoulder-to-shoulder, practically moshing already even though there was no music. Some had their cell phones lit up and were waving them around in the air. The heat was hellish, sweat plastering their hair to their foreheads.

She glanced towards the stage, which was pitch black – not even a mic stand in sight.

Feeling faint, Tenten walked over to the merch stand – noticing the huge bustling crowd in front of it. She swallowed a wave of nausea, feeling stupid for getting so wrapped up in something that didn't really involve her on a huge scale.

"Hinata!" She waved to the head of the merch stand, noticing that the girl's long dark hair had been twirled up and pinned with a pencil, and the back of her neck was glistening. Hinata smiled, serving what seemed like a million and one people with shaky hands. "This place is nuts!"

"V-very busy," Hinata agreed, swallowing. "The b-band is coming on now?"

"Few minutes," Tenten replied. "Instruments are all set up and ready to rumble."

"Glad to hear it." Temari appeared at Tenten's side, scowl firmly in place. The blond was one hard business nut, managing roguish bands like The Sacred being her specialty. Tenten admired Temari a lot. The woman was strong and coped with so much. "I heard that dumbass Hidan was holding things up."

Tenten and Hinata shared little grins. "He's washed his mud pack off and is ready to get going, I promise."

"Tch." Temari looked away. "So long as they play well. If they bomb in the headlines, I'll flay him."

"He'd probably enjoy that," Tenten replied cheerfully.

The first strong notes of a guitar cut across the stadium – so loud and sudden that everyone seemed to hold their breath at once.

The guitars began to build a fast rhythm, keyboard and drums joining in until the sound was so loud and strong that Tenten was amazed ears weren't bleeding. The pace was infectious – her heart couldn't help but follow it until she was panting where she stood, her eyes wide and sweat slipping over her temples. People started cheering and screaming.

Beside her, Temari and Hinata watched in breathless silence.

A voice came out of the darkness of the stage, joining in with the guitars with perfect timing.

"_On a cold winter morning, in the time before the light  
In flames of death's eternal reign we ride towards the fight  
And the darkness is falling down and the times are tough all right  
The sound of evil laughter falls around the world tonight..._"

Oh, wow, Tenten thought. She'd heard them sing this one before – one of their heavier numbers. And yet it never ceased to stun her.

"_Fighting high, fighting on for the steel  
Through the wastelands evermore  
The scattered souls will feel the hell bodies wasted on the shores..._"

The mosh pit began to heave. Already, people were getting vicious in front of the stage – the band wasn't even visible yet, and someone was escorted out with an injury. Tenten looked at Temari, awed, and saw pride in the manager's smirk.

"_On the blackest waves in history  
We watch them as they go  
Through fire, pain and once again we know..._"

Strobe lights suddenly flashed across the stage – reds and greens and purples, highlighting the band on the stage. The crowd screamed, pumping their fists in the air, as the lead singer grabbed the mic and tossed his head back, his long hair spilling over his shoulders.

"_So now we fly ever free  
We're free before the thunderstorm  
On towards the wilderness our quest carries on  
Far beyond the sundown, far beyond the moonlight  
Deep inside our hearts and all our __souls..._"

Neji was doing amazing. His voice was so raw – and that white jacket and impossibly tight leather pants were doing wonders for him. Tenten figured he had to use a shoe horn to get into those pants – he'd probably need it to get him out of them too. She covered her grin with her hand.

"_So far away we wait for the day  
For the lights are so wasted and gone  
We feel the pain of a lifetime lost in a thousand days  
Through the fire and the flames we carry on!_"

As the song boomed on, the bass vibrating through the floors, Tenten watched them. She loved seeing them with their music – it was something of a wonder. When she thought of the effort that went into it – the composition and writing Neji had to do, the vocals, the guitar rhythms that Shino, Kiba and Shikamaru had to run with, Hidan's mad drumming and Kankurou's skilled keyboard playing...well, it was like they were gods making a new world. It was incredible.

Neji was a crisp frontman. As he sang, he made sure that he looked _good_. In fact, he was probably the most fashionable looking guy of the bunch.

Behind him, the bassist Shikamaru had his usual spiked ponytail and a simple mesh shirt over his three-quarter length cargos. His purple guitar with the small pig graphic on the body just below the harmonics bar was completely at odds with his image, and only those close to him or those die-hard enough to look it up knew that it was because of his wife.

The rhythm and backup vocalist, Kiba, spun around on stage and whipped about like he was on crack. His grin distorted the lines of the fang tattoos on his cheeks, and his brown hair was spiked into a million different directions. He wore a sleeveless hooded shirt with the band logo on it and ripped jeans. His guitar was pure white and he knew how to make it scream.

The drummer, Hidan...well, aside from the tightest jeans in the world he tended not to wear much clothing. He was shirtless, sweat slicking his muscular body as he drummed away and grinned maniacally. His slicked-back silver hair was perfectly in place.

The lead guitarist's hands were moving at insane speeds to keep up with the riffs, his fingers hitting every note expertly on the neck of the custom metal Les Paul. Shino stood perfectly still, his pose determined and aggressive. He wore a long-sleeved dark green hoodie and black jeans. A green and red beanie sat on his head and his eyes were hidden by wraparound shades.

The keyboard player, Kankurou – Temari and Gaara's brother – danced to the beat and occasionally glared at the drummer. He wore a striped shirt and baggy jeans, purple kabuki paint patterns on his face.

They were weird. They were probably the strangest set of people to ever make up a band.

But they _fit_.

The song was over before she knew it, and Tenten blinked. Neji took a sip from the bottled water a stagehand passed to him, and handed it back before walking up to the mic. "Hello, Earl's Court!" He said in perfectly accented English, to thunderous applause. "It's been a long while since we were here. We've got some old stuff for you, and some new stuff from our new album, Vermillion, out in August. We hope you have a good evening."

Shino opened up the next song with a riff. The whole band came together in one of their new songs, the crowd waving lighters and cell phones around to the rhythm.

"_Hello my friend, we meet again  
It's been awhile, where should we begin?  
Feels like forever  
Within my heart a memory  
A perfect love that you gave to me  
Oh, I remember..._"

Tenten had heard this one in rehearsals. It suited Neji's voice to the point that she'd been having vivid fantasies. It really wasn't helping, hearing him amplified in this huge theatre. She cleared her throat, shooting a glance at Temari before looking back to the stage.

"_When you are with me I'm free  
I'm careless, I believe  
Above all the others we'll fly  
This brings tears to my eyes  
My Sacrifice..._"

Sometimes...sometimes their songs had a romantic edge to them. And not just a run-of-the-mill, 'let's write a ballad to be different' kind of romantic. The romance seemed very specific, very consistent. She hated to be so curious, but she couldn't help but think that those songs meant something. That Neji was writing about someone in particular.

It was stupid, and she knew it. But it raised her hopes.

As the show progressed and Temari darted off to deal with business, Tenten watched the band and hung around, helping Hinata sell t-shirts to overenthusiastic groupies. Time flew by, even though her heart never stopped racing.

By the time the evening drew to a close, she felt like a sweaty, smelly bag of shaking nerves. She dashed away from Hinata, quickly running backstage to get iced beers for the guys so that they could wind down. She knew exactly how they liked it – Neji, Kiba, and Kankurou liked Asahi. Shikamaru drank Stella. Hidan refused to drink any of the 'pussy' beers and insisted on Holsten Pils.

Shino didn't drink beer – something Tenten still found a little mystifying even now. A rocker without beer sounded to her like a dog without a tail. It wasn't a bad thing, just very unusual. Instead, he liked an ice cold bitter lemon, no added sugar.

She set the drinks out in the VIP lounge and ran back downstairs to tell the caterers to send the food up. She spotted Temari and Gaara heading towards the stairs.

"They up in the rooms?" Temari asked, looking tired.

Tenten nodded. "They've got their drinks and food's on its way." Catering to their every little fussy whim, of course. Kiba liked mixed grill, Hidan liked rare steak, Shino was a vegetarian...

"Great," Temari sighed. "I could sleep for a year, you know that?"

Gaara simply stared and shuffled his feet. Tenten took his passivity to mean that he'd smoked one huge joint. Actually – she sniffed. Yup, now that she was looking for it, she could detect a hint of weed clinging to him. No wonder Temari looked stressed.

Three guesses on where Gaara's weed came from, and the first two were just for comedic effect.

"I'll meet you upstairs," Temari said, dragging Gaara behind her by the elbow. Her brows were drawn down and a vein seemed to be throbbing in her temple. Tenten would really hate to be Hidan when Temari got upstairs. "We've gotta start getting arrangements ready for the tour bus to Brixton."

The reminder that there would be two more stops was completely unwelcome. Tenten groaned inwardly, leaning her hot forehead against the cool wall. Sometimes, she was pretty sure she was underpaid for such a strenuous job.

She growled to herself and pushed away from the wall, turning to go back through the corridor and up the stairs to meet up with everyone.

She froze. Standing by the open fire exit, letting the outside air dry sweat on his naked torso, was Shino. He'd shed his green hoodie, wrapping it around his waist. He had a lean but very compact build, tightly muscled and strong. Around his neck hung his signed plectrum (a gift from Slash, formerly of Guns N' Roses) and his beanie was hanging out of his pocket. His dark brown hair was brushlike and spiky, blowing in the breeze.

As if sensing her scrutiny – and god, it _was_ scrutiny (Shino tended to wear so much clothing that Tenten hadn't even tried to ever imagine what he looked like underneath it all...now that she could see it, it was pretty...whoa) – Shino turned his head towards her. What she could see of his face around the wraparounds was completely neutral, but the way he turned his body towards her seemed intent.

"...Tenten?"

She gulped. The frontal view was a little flustering. She liked Neji, of course – Neji was the main star of her fantasies. But she knew when to appreciate a good body. Unfortunately, she was also very overwhelmed by the fact that _Shino_ was shirtless in front of her – Aburame Shino, of all people. The silent, somewhat unsociable introvert was flashing skin.

And it was nice skin. Very pale and unblemished – all barring a small tattoo of a bug with outstretched wings above his right nipple. She stared at it, transfixed by the black ink that crowned his nipple. "...uh..."

"Are you alright?" He lowered his head in question. His voice had a hint of amusement. He made no move to put his hoodie on.

"...tattoo," she blurted, shaking her head to try and clear it. This was so embarrassing. Her cheeks flushed red. She didn't know what was weirder – talking to Shino, who had always seemed like an immovable and uncommunicative rock to her, or the fact that all it had taken was a glimpse of his body to let her know that Shino _wasn't_ just a rock but a flesh and blood person. "What, uh, what's your tattoo?"

Shino looked down at the tattoo, and raised his head back to her again. "It is a scarab."

"Oh, a dung beetle?" Tenten asked, trying not to raise an eyebrow. Not the most pleasant of insects to have immortalised on your skin. She imagined one rolling it's little ball of crap across the ground.

...not very rockstar.

"Yes," Shino nodded. He unwound his hoodie from his waist. Just as she was feeling relieved, he began using it to wipe up the last of his sweat from his bare skin. "The scarab was a symbol in Ancient Egypt," he told her.

Tenten had always fallen asleep in history class – she didn't really know much about anything historical. It was typical that Shino would. She was intrigued. She looked up at him. "Oh?"

"It represented a transformation, a coming into being," Shino explained. He paused. Tenten liked how he always did that when speaking – she knew that he was considering his words. Someone who paid attention to things like that was refreshing. "It seemed appropriate."

She didn't know specifically what transformation he could mean. She could only guess it had something to do with The Sacred. But the idea was a good one – a beautiful one, actually – and she looked at Shino. Yes. Without the guitar, the music, the people around him, the _shirt_...he was a person. She felt a pang of shame that she was only just seeing that.

She realised that she was staring and quickly smiled. "It's great that you have a tattoo that means something. Most people just...point at a random design in a folder and have that for the rest of their lives." She chuckled awkwardly, thinking of the random pinup tattoos on Hidan's skin that never seemed to exist for any reason other than to prove his addiction to pain.

Except for the beautiful tattoo of the fan on his right arm. Tenten was pretty sure that meant something.

Shino slung his hoodie over his shoulder and cocked his head. "It's foolish...to choose things with no basis, and live with them for the rest of your life because you feel you need to keep up the false solidarity."

She felt sure he was staring at her behind those glasses – possibly without blinking. It was beginning to make the hairs on her arms stand on end. His words had felt like a glancing blow, even though she didn't understand why, and Tenten frowned. She wasn't sure she could ever understand him, but it probably didn't matter anyway. He was just Shino after all.

"I'm gonna...go see Temari," Tenten said, backing up. "I have to join in the meeting."

"Me too," Shino agreed, and his voice sounded tight – regretful. Maybe Tenten was imagining that last bit. She didn't know – she was too busy heading for the stairs.

"Okay guys – you did great! Anything you need?" Tenten breathed in deeply, feeling guilty that she sincerely wished the answer was a resounding no. She was exhausted, emotionally wrecked from the gig and the running around she'd been doing.

As if there really was a god, five sets of eyes looked up at her and a chorus of voices and gestures reassured her that everything was okay.

She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at them.

"Oi, oi," Kiba snickered. "Aren't you meant to at least _act_ like you enjoy running around after us?" He finished messing his hair up – only to yell when Kankurou flattened some of it down with a large hand. "Get the hell off!"

"Shut up." Gaara was sitting in the chair in the corner of their VIP room, his Fender perched in his lap. His teal eyes narrowed. "I'm trying to play."

"Chill, Gaara," Kankurou grinned. He was fiddling with his purple paints. For some reason, his definition of 'rock star' was drawing things in purple on his face. Kabuki-like patterns. The fangirls went nuts for it – they really did. But sometimes Tenten wondered how in the hell Kankurou came up with it. Did he just look in the mirror one day and think, 'I know! FACEPAINT! That's what I've been missing.'

Tenten shook her head. "You guys sure you don't need anything?" _Please dismiss me so I can go collapse in my bed on the freaking tour bus._

"How about some air con?" Shikamaru was sitting on the couch. He looked grumpy and still had kohl smears around his eyes.

Of course, Shikamaru always tended to look grumpy often. But Tenten figured it had a lot to do with the ring on his finger this time around.

"This heat is so troublesome," he muttered.

"The heat, or the fucking thumb you're jammed under?" Hidan, was reclining at the other end of the couch with a mud face pack on his face and cucumbers over his eyes. Tenten bit back a snicker. Oh, Hidan was pure man and muscle – but he took his hygiene so seriously that he didn't mind dipping into 'feminine' beauty therapy to keep his godly good looks at their best. He was smirking – outright laughing when Shikamaru punched him the shoulder.

"Get lost," the bassist grumbled, but the way his cheeks coloured told everyone what they needed to know.

Kiba snickered. His arm was flung over Hinata's shoulder – the sweet merch girl a bright shade of red that looked hazardous. At some point between the Germany tour and the England one, Kiba had finally worked up the balls to ask her out. "Ino giving you blue balls already, bitch?"

"Fuck you, dog breath," Shikamaru growled.

"That's enough." Shino was sitting in an armchair, holding his bitter lemon in one hand, and the neck of his favourite guitar in the other. The Gibson J-185 EC acoustic was custom designed, with a vermilion-coloured body and gold piping. The main circular Guns N' Roses logo was stuck to the lower body.

"Shino! Did you see the crowd today?" Kiba grinned, and gyrated his hips in a way that Tenten was sure had to be illegal in some countries. It made Hinata turn an even darker red. "We totally made the ladies scream, eh?"

"..." Shino drummed his fingertips lightly against the fret bar of his acoustic. He'd barely said two words since following Tenten up to the VIP room. She wished she could tell what he was looking at from behind his glasses.

"Hey, you ignoring me?!" Kiba glared.

"Don't bother, man," Hidan snorted, peeling the cucumber off of his eyes to squint at their lead. "It's like arguing with a fucking plank of wood, seriously."

"Funny," Kankurou sneered. "I feel the same way about talking to you."

"Oh bring it," Hidan glared. His muscles bunched.

"Guys," Tenten sighed.

Temari huffed. She, too, looked exhausted. But it probably had a lot to do with the fact that she'd ranted at Hidan about supplying Gaara with weed – something the drummer was completely unashamed about.

Hidan glanced at her, and looked away obstinately. They were like cat and dog – Tenten knew that a large part of it was probably serious sexual tension. Only problem was, they were both stubborn mules and mouthy people who rubbed each other the wrong way. It was a bad combination, especially when the two people involved were manager and client.

Neji was lolling back in a recliner, looking at sheets of music with an air of detachment. He took a sip of his Asahi and winced. "This beer's warm," he frowned.

Tenten tensed, a feeling of horror growing in the pit of her stomach. She'd been sure the beers were properly iced! She gulped, catching Neji's disappointed look as he glanced her way and put the beer bottle down on the table as far away from him as possible.

Kiba cracked his knuckles. Tenten bit down a sigh. She knew the rhythm guitarist had always wanted Neji's role. He was good, too – but Kiba had joined as rhythm and hadn't shown his musical talents until way after Neji was hired to join the original Shino-Kiba-Shikamaru trio and the fans were already stuck on the vocalist.

If Tenten was feeling honest and unbiased, she'd admit that Kiba had a thousand times the charisma Neji had. He would be an awesome frontman in every sense of the word.

Kiba's beef with Neji was a bit awkward, especially if Neji gave Kiba a hard time when he was doing backing vocals. Luckily, Shikamaru and Shino were pretty good at mediating.

"K-Kiba-kun..." Hinata rubbed Kiba's back, a little panicked.

"So...gig went good," Kankurou drawled, looking between Kiba and Neji with a raised brow.

"Like a fucking glove," Hidan snickered – then remembered that he was meant to be sulking, and looked down at the floor with an exaggerated glare-pout. Temari rolled her eyes and folded her arms. She crossed her long legs at the ankles, immediately drawing violet eyes her way.

"Not quite," a smooth voice interjected.

"Not by a long shot," Gaara muttered from his position on the floor, his guitar cradled against him like a beloved teddy bear.

"You missed the beat on the third song," Shino informed Neji coolly. Tenten felt a chill – how Shino could put down someone like Neji without even twitching a muscle seemed alien. Inbelievable. "And you were too early on the fourth."

Gaara muttered something under his breath that Tenten missed, but Hidan smirked and gave the redhead a high five.

Neji's eyes narrowed.

"I suppose," Shino said in a thoughtful tone, "that even you are not perfect."

Kiba snorted and slapped a hand over his mouth. Shikamaru groaned and dropped his head against the back of the couch.

Neji's face reddened. "_You_ think you can talk? Did you hear the guitar work during _Through the Fire and the Flames_? I had to rescue that song from the wreckage that – "

"Hey, fuck you," Kiba snarled – leaping in to Shino's defence. The lead guitarist had yet to even show a sign of breathing in response to Neji's words.

Tenten blinked. She'd heard the guitar work and it had been perfect. Had she missed something? She was sure she hadn't. She was no musician but she had a good ear and...frankly, she had no idea what the hell was going on.

"Calm down, Kiba," Shikamaru sighed, as Neji jumped up to size up to Kiba. Immediately, Kankurou stepped in, his broad frame eclipsing the vocalist.

"ENOUGH!" Temari shouted. She slammed a fist down on her knee, making everyone jump. "Pull it together, assholes! We've been through this before – mistakes happen in live shows, it's _no one's fault_. The fans went away happy, we made a lot of money, we're gonna sell a lot of albums – be happy and shut the hell up!"

She was red in the face by the time her shouting had stopped and Tenten could see the torn humour and arousal on Hidan's face as he stared at her.

"That's my sister," Kankurou said. "Stop staring or I'll kill you."

"Oh chill the fuck out," Hidan grumbled. "Maybe you should borrow some of your brother's weed, seriously."

"Weed?" Kankurou gritted his teeth. "You've been dealing to my brother again? Listen up fucker – "

"Everyone, stop it." Shino said. Then, "Now."

Even though he was a quiet guy, his voice cut across the squallor. Tenten noticed this time that his fingers were gripping the bottle of lemon tightly enough to indent the bottle.

"Temari is right," he continued, his voice smooth. It had the quality a good teacher might have – the ability to calm tempers and lay down firm laws at the same time. "Tonight was a success. We must make sure that Brixton Academy will be the same."

Neji glowered, clearly not yet willing to let go of the subject. However, with Kankurou and Kiba still glaring him down, he eased himself back into his seat and snatched up his warm beer.

Tension still crackled in the room as everyone fought to know what to say. All except for Shino, Gaara and Hidan, who seemed perfectly content to let everyone else stew. Tenten and Hinata looked at each other bemusedly across the room.

"I want pizza," Neji said suddenly, and looked at Tenten with his pearlescent eyes. "You can go and get pizza, yes?"

"Can't you just eat what's been prepared?" Temari asked, sounding at her wits' end.

"No," Neji snorted. "How difficult is it to get a pizza?"

"No places around here deliver, moron," Kankurou sneered. "We already tried calling for one earlier."

"She can go on foot," Neji shrugged. "That is her job."

Tenten agreed – that was her job. But she _really_ didn't want to travel around London in the middle of the night carrying heavy bags of greasy fast food. She gulped, sensing impending doom.

"No," Shino said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Neji snarled.

"Pizza _does_ sound fucking good," Hidan murmured distantly, having lost attention after pizza was first mentioned. "I've got the munchies like you wouldn't believe."

"And barbeque wings," Gaara said. "Maybe garlic bread too."

"You'll stink," Temari warned.

"Who cares?"

"No chicks will wanna kiss you," Kankurou said, sounding aghast at the thought. Thunderclouds passed over Gaara's face, and Tenten thought she saw something more than just anger there.

"Fuck you," Gaara spat, and put his earphones in his ears.

Kiba covered Hinata's ears. "Go get it yourself, Neji."

"I've been working all night and I'm tired," Neji huffed. "Plus, it's not my job – and you want to, yes?" He looked at Tenten with a small smile. "You don't mind."

Tenten parted her lips to reply.

"No," Shino repeated.

"No what?" Shikamaru asked, exasperated.

"No, Tenten will _not_ go on foot," Shino said, his voice rising. He stood up.

"It's her job to get the food," Neji pressed, raising an eyebrow.

"It is," Tenten agreed, sensing tension rising again. God, how bad would it be if an argument happened over something like this? Over _her_? Why Shino was even stepping in was beyond her, but she felt the need to stop this right away. "I'm going now, okay? I'll be back as soon as – "

"I will take you," Shino said. He was looking in Neji's direction, the muscles in his jaw clenched and defined. His shoulders were squared as he pulled a black zip-up jacket on over his Iron Maiden shirt.

"No, no – it's okay, you don't have – " She felt mortified.

"I insist," Shino said, his voice softer. He held the door open for her and beckoned.

Feeling all eyes on her, Tenten burned in her blush and darted out of the open door. The walk down and out of the building felt like a death row march with a prison guard. She was more aware of Shino's presence than ever before, and that awareness was filled with anticipation and uncomfortable suspicion over his actions.

Not that Shino had ever been anything less than courteous. He helped out where he could and always tried to alleviate the burdens put upon her when they got unmanageable. He was a godsend, in many respects – a little weird, because he didn't seem to realise that there was a big white line between their jobs – the rockstar and the dogsbody.

But for _him_ to give _her _a lift somewhere? It made her feel like she was taking the piss. "It's okay," Tenten said. "I don't know what happened up there but...I can go get the pizza."

"Yes," Shino agreed. "And I will go with you."

She groaned.

"Humour me," Shino said, adjusting his shades on his face. "In the car, it will not take long."

"...car?"

"I took the liberty of hiring a rental car," Shino shrugged, opening the door to the back lot of the building for her. "I wanted to do some sightseeing earlier. This was the perfect opportunity."

Tenten looked to where he was gesturing and almost purred in pleasure. It wasn't a Ferrari or anything else most rockstars would probably orgasm over. No, it was a gorgeous dark green Audi A4 Saloon with blacked out windows.

As he unlocked the doors with the key remote, Tenten stared from the car to Shino and back again.

It suited him. An understated work of genius.

She slipped into the passenger seat, biting her lip at the feel of the leather against her thighs. Shino was already fiddling with the stereo as he started the car, and when he leant towards her to twiddle the volume knob, she caught the scent of bitter lemon and something like cinnamon.

"Thanks," she said, not really knowing what else to say.

Shino looked towards her, putting the car into gear. "Of course." He pulled out of the parking lot, his driving as smooth as his guitar playing, and headed down the road.

The sound of The Kaiser Chiefs on the stereo did nothing to alleviate her tension. Tenten was very aware of the brush of his arm against hers whenever he changed gears, and the way his slightly open window blew his hair.

Every time she looked at him, she realised that she didn't know Aburame Shino at all.

And it was sad, because she knew that she _should_ know him.

Exhaustion set in and she slumped back against the seat.

"It has been a long day," Shino said quietly.

Tenten nodded, glancing at him. If he was exhausted and aching, he didn't show it. But he never did. "I feel sorry for Temari. She does a thousand times what I do, without a break."

Shino grunted.

"And she has to put up with Hidan." Tenten shook her head. She was beginning to ramble – Shino's silence normally didn't affect her, but after today...the shirtlessness, the arguing...well, she wasn't all that comfortable. "Now that sucks. That guy flirts with everything with long hair and a pulse."

"Oh?"

"Yeah...he played for Hinata, before Kiba tried to knock him flat." She snorted. Kiba hadn't really achieved much, of course, because Hidan was 'built like a brick shithouse', to use Kankurou's terms. "He grabbed _my_ butt once – I think he was drunk."

Shino rammed the car into fourth gear. "I see."

"It's to make Temari jealous, probably," Tenten yawned. "Hey, do you even know where the pizza place is?"

"I believe the nearest row of restaurants is this way."

"Oh, okay." She rubbed her eyes. "Anyway, Hidan and Temari. They're like a deranged rock song, you know? About how love is poison and blah blah."

Shino raised an eyebrow above his glasses. His expression was neutral, but Tenten knew somehow that he was amused. "Nothing The Sacred has ever played, of course."

"Oh, of course not," Tenten chuckled. If her tiredness hadn't been setting in pretty quick, she might have marvelled at how easily conversation was flowing with this quiet man. "And Hinata..."

"Hinata is a ballad," Shino said. "Kiba played _Sweet Child O' Mine_ for her once."

"Very fitting," Tenten nodded, smiling. "Hinata is a rock ballad, then." Hinata seemed soft but she was tough when the situation called for it – Kiba had her number called perfectly.

Shino turned down into a high street lined with stores. "And what about you?"

"Me?" Tenten blinked out of her thoughts as Shino pulled up outside a 24 hour pizza and kebab joint.

"What type of song are you?" Shino asked.

Tenten paused.

It was an awkward question. Awkward because answers could mean too much or too little, and she wasn't sure what she wanted to give away or what she didn't. She decided to try for self-deprecating – that always threw people off.

"I'm the song that no one sings," she laughed.

Ouch. She felt the stab low in her stomach that told her she'd just revealed a bit of her flesh to the world. She kept her amused face on, unclipping her seatbelt.

Shino turned to look at her.

Even through his sunglasses, she could feel his stare.

"Um...let's go," she said. "They're probably hungry."

Standing in the joint, waiting for the food, Tenten felt like all of the eyes of the world were on her. Maybe it was because Shino was an observant guy. He hadn't given any indication of looking at her again, but she had the feeling that he was doing it anyway. It was strange to think that he could keep her in his peripherals so discreetly.

With bags of food in hand, they returned to the car. Tenten had half expected some sort of questioning, but Shino was silent on the way back. The thrum of the car's engine lulled Tenten's tired mind. In the leather cradle of the seat, Tenten listened to Shino's soft humming as she drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto, Kishi does.

NOTES: As repeated from the last chapter:

1. This was intended for Metamorphoze originally - I haven't updated my other fics in a while, and I apologise. I intend on doing so as soon as uni is calmed down. However, like Plastic Fangs, this story grew and grew until Metamorphoze wouldn't be able to contain it anymore. So here it is.

2. All of the songs in this story, aside from the ones openly stated as being used as covers, are being used as songs Shino's fictional band, The Sacred, wrote and performed. Obviously the songs were written and belong to the bands/ghost writers, not these fictional characters. But you have to be clear on these things, of course. All set lists for concerts are given at the beginning of each chapter, crediting the actual musicians.

3. There is Neji bashing here. I hate Neji on the best of days, I admit - that's just my personal taste. I do it because a) it's funny to me and b) I see it as helping Shino in his goal to getting tail. Go Shino! But in this fic, Neji's being bashed exceptionally hard because fame has gone to his head. He's the frontman of one of the world's biggest bands - it's gonna happen. So please, Neji fans, don't take this personally. It's a fictional and free fun world.

4. I don't know what it's like to be a PA for a rock band, or anything for that matter. I've also never been backstage at any of these venues, nor do I know how many songs are usually on set lists. I've bluffed my way through this and focused on the pure entertainment value.

5. This came from a dream I had, where I saw Shino as a frontman at a concert and he was singing Tenacious D's The Metal. Rel encouraged me to write rockstar!Shino up (she's the driving force behind most of what I do!) and here he is.

Hope I didn't forget anything there. Thanks to all who have reviewed! Please read, enjoy and review!

The other songs in this fic are "You've Got a Way" by Shania Twain and "Vermillion Pt.2 Bloodstone Remix" by Slipknot.

* * *

SET LIST FOR THE BRIXTON ACADEMY SHOW 

Matchbox 20 – Little Wonders

Kings of Leon – Use Somebody

Foo Fighters – Dear Lover

Creed – Higher

Aerosmith – I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing

* * *

Tenten ran down the corridor, trying to figure out where the hell Neji was. She'd been pointed in this direction, but she had yet to stumble across him.

She was pathetic.

She knew that she had always lived and breathed all things Neji, and she was throwing herself in his direction to continue that lifestyle...because she needed to remind herself.

They'd reached Brixton Academy. And dear lord, those long long hours on the tour bus had felt like years. Ever since she'd woken up on the bus and realised that Shino had to have given them the food by himself, she'd felt like she'd failed in her job.

But most of all, she'd felt somehow threatened by how _nice _he'd been over the whole thing. He'd shrugged off her embarrassment and changed the conversational direction until – by the time they'd reached their destination – she found that she'd gotten to know Aburame Shino better.

And she'd been unable to stop thinking about him – and most especially, the bed thing. She had yet to answer the questions of _how_ had she ended up in her bed on the tour bus, _why_ was Shino so nice about it, and _why_ was the band once again filled with tension and sidelong glares?

The hostility between Shino, Kiba and Neji was palpable. Shino, Tenten learned, had his own subtle way of showing his displeasure. If he wasn't making razor-tongued comments that could bring down the strongest of men, then he was riling the others up and driving them made with how calm he was in the face of whatever mental torment he was inflicting on them. Even Hidan had been suffering the wrath of Shino, Shadow Torturer.

She'd heard Hidan whimpering in the bathroom hours after Shino had told him that his hairline was receding.

The lead guitarist had been very present in her mind lately. Too present.

And like the cowardly, confused little idiot she was...she was running to Neji to remind herself of who she should _really _be thinking about when she closed her eyes.

Tenten heard voices down the end of the corridor and breathed a sigh of relief – then froze.

" – try it, you motherfucking – "

"Hidan! Calm down!"

" – gonna rip you a new asshole, then you'll have _three_, you fucking cu – "

"Calm down before I fire _all _of your asses!"

Temari. She sounded shaken – so shaken that Tenten's own heart skipped a few beats. She rounded the corner.

Hidan was angry. Angrier than she had ever seen him before. His face was red and she could see the whites of his eyes even from eight feet away. He had Neji by the collar, his knuckles white. Neji's face was pinched but determined. Sweat slicked the singer's hairline.

Temari was behind Hidan, pale but furiously trying to break his hold on Neji with Shikamaru's feeble help. "Hidan! Let him go, NOW."

"How can you fucking say that?" Hidan snarled. "This guy was grabbing at you – practically molesting you , and you wanna let him walk away?"

"I can deal with Neji myself," Temari ground out.

Tenten felt like the world was shifting underneath her feet. She looked at Neji, waiting for him to deny it.

Neji glared at Hidan defiantly.

"I'm gonna rearrange your fucking face, seriously," Hidan growled. "I'd like to see your fans worshipping you then."

Neji, flirting with Temari? Touching her? Tenten gulped around the solid mass in her throat.

Temari...well. She hadn't even wanted it. That much was obvious just from looking at her.

Why would Neji...pick someone who didn't want it?

Why?

"Hidan." Shino appeared, his plain black vest top and sandblasted jeans so...ordinary that Tenten almost didn't recognise him. Had he been there all along? Maybe he'd been standing there the whole time, blending into the surroundings in a way that Shino was eerily capable of.

Shino didn't touch Hidan. Didn't move a muscle outside of his casual stance with his hands in his pockets. His favourite green hoodie, she noted, was tied around his waist.

"You are still on probation," the lead guitarist said in even tones. "You do not want to do this now."

"Or ever," Shikamaru frowned.

Shino was silent.

Hidan ground his teeth. His face was blotchy and red, veins standing out in his neck. His violet eyes regarded Shino, conflict clear on his face.

Slowly, he began to let go of Neji's collar.

Neji smoothed down his clothing and snorted. He brushed his long hair back and folded his arms.

"I _ever_ catch that shit again," Hidan growled, "I swear..."

"On what?" Neji glared.

"Shut up, man," Shikamaru warned. He grasped Hidan's shoulder, and Hidan shoved him away. Temari made a soft sound, somewhere between a gasp and a groan.

The drummer whirled towards Shino. "Kiba should be on vocals, seriously. This fucker's a fame whore – a no-talent shitty liability." He glared at Temari then, something like accusation in his eyes. "And you know it! But you keep him here, while he's grabbing you up when you don't want it?!"

He gave a mirthless laugh. It made Tenten wince.

"You're lucky I'm not gonna fucking tell your brothers about this shit." He turned dark eyes on Neji. "You especially. Between the three of us, they'd never fucking find your body." He stormed off, shoulder-barging Neji hard enough to knock him into the wall.

The four people in the corridor looked at each other, as Neji raised his chin and brushed lint off of his shoulders.

Tenten felt sick. She felt as sick as Temari looked. The heat was replaced with a chill that made her skin goosepimple. The sweat on her skin turned cold beneath the band-logo hoodie.

Shino turned his head an inch and she knew that he'd noticed her. His expression never changed, but it never needed to. His body said it all. The way he shifted his weight to the other foot and the angle of his shoulders said that he was waiting for her reaction.

"Everything okay?" She asked, her mouth dry.

Temari jumped. "Tenten! What..."

Neji didn't look bothered. His silence was casual, his expression bored. _He doesn't care_, Tenten realised. _He doesn't care at all_.

"Hidan's new drum kit arrived," Tenten blurted. She was sure that that wasn't why she was there, but she couldn't remember the original reason. And she had to say _something_. "It's the most horrible shade of pink I've ever seen."

Shikamaru snorted. "Surprise, surprise."

"What an embarrassment," Neji muttered.

Temari glared at him. Tenten knew what Temari was thinking – had heard the woman's spiel before. What was embarrassing was how Neji would attend every press junket and interview and ramble on and on about fate, without letting any of the band get a word in edgewise. What was embarrassing was how it was becoming obvious to the rest of the world that Neji was more of a show pony than a musician.

"Hidan...is annoying," Shino stated. "But _he_ is not an embarrassment."

"Who is?" Neji shot back, picking up on the subtle inflection in Shino's voice.

"You sound defensive, Neji. What makes you think that anyone is an embarrassment?" Shino's tone had a note of innocent curiosity that was a little too innocent, and Neji's face darkened.

"I...I have to go," Tenten said. She waved and turned back down the way she came.

What a thing to walk into. She almost wished she'd never known about Neji's come ons, about the strife in the band. Maybe then she would be able to go on thinking that she and Neji just had to make that extra move for things to change.

Now, she wasn't so sure. Well – she'd never spoken of her feelings, sure. But she believed in body language. Hell – Shino was easily able to pick up on her body language most of the time, why couldn't Neji do the same?

Maybe he could, but he ignored it.

But...the songs. The songs that were romantic and wonderful and so pointed. She didn't think they were about Temari – she was sure they weren't. And some things in those songs...they seemed so personally directed at her.

Tenten leant against the wall. She didn't know. She wasn't sure of any of it anymore.

**

The crowd roared, illuminated through the fog by the flickering strobe lights as the song started in, the curtains lifting. Keyboard and guitar worked together with bass that shook the floor.

Everyone at the merch stand paused and stopped rushing to get to the sales staff first. Hinata paused in the middle of selling a t-shirt and looked towards the stage, her smile illuminating her face. Her t-shirt had "I 3 Kiba" written on it (by Kiba himself, no less).

Neji stepped up to the mic, his long hair tied back into a loose ponytail and bound with black ribbon. His tight ribbed shirt was a little more showy than his usual outfits, but it probably had a lot to do with the snide looks he kept casting to the rest of the band.

"_Let it go,  
Let it roll right off your shoulder  
Don't you know  
The hardest part is over  
Let it in,  
Let your clarity define you  
In the end  
We will only just remember how it feels..._"

One of the new songs. Tenten watched from sidestage, Gaara standing beside her with a joint tucked between his lips. From this vantage point, she could see quite a lot. She could see the bruises on Hidan's knuckles as he took his stress out on his hideous pink drum kit. She could see Kiba's usual vibrant charisma.

Shino was clearest in her view. He'd traded in his earlier clothing for a pair of black cargo pants, a pinstripe suit jacket and and untucked white dress shirt with a loose tie. Some of the buttons were undone, and the laces of his chucks were untied.

She couldn't help the twitch of her lips. No one else could pull off that fashion style, she was sure of it.

On Shino, it looked as natural as his sunglasses and beanie.

"_Our lives are made  
In these small hours  
These little wonders,  
These twists and turns of fate  
Time falls away,  
But these small hours,  
These small hours still remain..._"

This song was familiar. It reminded her of something – conversations in those small hours, something nice but hanging just out of focus. It was a nice feeling – Tenten felt fond of the song.

And yet this concert was different somehow. She still felt tight anticipation in her chest, but it had nothing to do with the usual nervous excitement.

Maybe it had something to do with everything she'd seen and heard. Maybe it had something to do with the reversals in perspective she'd been experiencing.

Maybe because she was watching Shino more than Neji.

He was fluid. He was using the vermilion guitar, his body movements few but efficient.

"_Let it slide,  
Let your troubles fall behind you  
Let it shine  
Until you feel it all around you  
And I don't mind  
If it's me you need to turn to  
We'll get by,  
It's the heart that really matters in the end..._"

She wanted to say that it was because he was her friend now. They'd spoken so much in the past few days – and he was such a genuinely nice person. A little razor-tongued, but she'd always known that – had found it pretty funny. He always knew the correct spot to hit, and never did things by half way marks.

Yes, he was her friend.

So why did she feel dry mouthed when she thought about him? Why did her head feel light whenever he insisted on helping her carry water bottle crates?

The song drew to a close, and Kiba flung a plectrum into the screaming crowd, followed by one of Hidan's drumsticks, that was probably aimed at Neji's head.

"Good evening, Brixton!"

Tenten looked out over the crowd. They were blurs – but every one of them had helped The Sacred reach their zenith, and not a single one of them fully understood the dynamics that went on behind the scenes. They had no idea the work that went into the compositions (neither did she, really), and they had no idea how hard the guys worked at playing the music.

Or rather, how hard Shino had to bully them into playing the music.

There she went again, thinking about Shino.

They started another song, and she swayed softly to the music, watching the subtle communications between the bandmates.

"Something's wrong," Gaara said. Tenten looked at him, her eyebrows raised. The sullen redhead was staring at the band, his Strat attached to his back. A photo was tucked beneath the strings high up on the neck – a young, pink-haired woman holding a black cat. "They've been arguing."

"...you can tell?" Tenten asked, impressed in spite of herself. It was stupid for her to be impressed – it wasn't like Gaara wasn't emotionally intelligent.

"It's easy," he replied, brushing red bangs away from his eyes. "Hidan's angry. His hands are bleeding."

Cuts on the drummer's knuckles had opened up. Tenten winced. "Yeah – he is."

"It's all wrong right now," Gaara said. "He should make it right."

"Who?" Tenten blinked. "Neji?"

Gaara looked at her, and looked away pointedly.

Tenten rolled her eyes. She didn't know why Gaara had to be so cryptic, but it really annoyed the hell out of her. She bit her lip. "Who's the girl?"

He stiffened. "What?"

"The pink-haired one. She yours?" Tenten smiled softly, to show that she meant no harm.

Gaara eyeballed her for a moment. "She was."

"Was?"

"Yes."

"Not any more?"

"She hates me."

Tenten felt like she was treading on thin ice. "...why would she hate you?"

"She thinks I should never have left school," he burst out angrily.

"Maybe she's just concerned about you," Tenten soothed.

"She should have more faith," he snapped. "I do."

Tenten fell silent. He looked ready to blow, and she really didn't want to be responsible for one of Gaara's episodes.

She turned back to the stage as the third set started up. She watched Shino's hands on the vermilion guitar, saw his lips twitching as he picked out the notes. She stood up straighter. It was the first time she'd been close enough to see him react to a song.

Hidan's drumming was suddenly...sensual. Perfect. The whole band seemed to tune in to some unspoken sentiment, and their playing combined as one perfect thing.

"_Dear lover  
Do you remember?  
The sound of your laughter and demise  
And that was all  
I need to fall in love..._"

She knew this one – it was one that had been written a year ago. It was the year when, after a successful USA tour, she'd partied hard with people she couldn't remember (in fact, the whole night was a complete blur) and had woken up in her hotel room wearing a white t-shirt saying 'If you don't like oral sex, keep your mouth shut'. She'd been sure it was either Kiba or Hidan's t-shirt, but both firmly denied it.

"_This matter  
It's something bigger  
Than anything ever graced my heart  
And that was all  
I could fall in love...with you  
And I can't stall this now..._"

Two days later, Neji had slapped down the lyrics and tablature for Dear Lover. Half of her had wondered if he was the one she'd partied with but...she'd never had the courage to ask.

She'd been so in love with this song – had hummed it for days. Tenten smiled.

"_Did you find some happiness with me?  
Now I know the way true love should be..._"

Gaara snorted and slumped on the floor, his back against the wall. He lit his joint and held the photo of the girl in his fingers, a melancholy look on his face. Tenten felt bad for him – she truly, truly did. It was horrible, having unrequited feelings. Right?

"_Dear lover  
Do you remember?  
The beats of my heart that I gave you  
And that was all  
I need to fall in love..._"

Shino was mouthing along to the words, Kiba standing next to him and doing the same with a little grin. Shino shook his head in faint exasperation.

The rest of the set seemed to improve dramatically after that song. They'd been good before, but after that they were on fire. Tenten watched it all from her position, unwavering and more and more confused as time went on.

Was it fickle of her to notice Shino after all of this time? And still be sure that Neji was the one she was interested in?

She was waiting for the band with cooled drinks and food when they stumbled into the VIP rooms, cheerful and delighted with how electric they had been. Gaara slapped Hidan on the shoulder and offered him some of his joint, which Hidan readily accepted.

Temari wandered in, looking worn but business-like. Hinata followed, sitting next to Kiba on the couch and receiving a kiss on the forehead. "That was...amazing," Temari said, a little awed. "I could hear people going nuts over it. I think the papers will be saying pretty idolising things tomorrow, guys."

"That was pretty good," Neji said, nodding. He cracked open his Asahi. "After Dear Lover. Before that, though – "

"Can it," Hidan and Temari said at the same time. They looked at each and looked away, embarrassed. Tenten rolled her eyes – and caught Shino's quirked brow. She shrugged, and his lips twitched a little at the corners. She could see herself reflected in his glasses, and felt a silly rush of self-consciousness.

"Who wants to go out for Thai?" Kiba cheered, pumping his fists in the air. "I could kill some of that right now."

"Once again, you ignore all catering," Temari muttered.

"Oh, we'll eat that too," Kankurou promised, ruffling Gaara's hair. The stoned boy didn't react at all – a testiment to how screwed he was.

"I'm in," Shikamaru yawned. "It'll give me a good excuse to turn off the phone."

"Ino breaking your nuts again?" Kiba asked. "Fuck man – why'd you marry her again?"

"She threatened my life. And my nut sack," Shikamaru said. "No, don't laugh. That's the kind of thing a man takes seriously."

"I'm in too," Hidan snorted. "And the kid." He nudged Gaara, who nearly fell over. Tenten was a little amazed that Temari wasn't screaming blue murder about the obvious drug abuse happening right in front of her, but she could see that Temari was a little stressed and probably having trouble dealing with the basics right now, let alone anything else.

"Sounds delish," Neji said.

"Shino? Tenten?" Kiba asked.

Somehow, Thai with all of these people sounded like her worst nightmare at that moment. Tenten quickly held her hands up. "No, no. Not me – I have a headache and I'll probably hang around here until you guys get back."

"Fairy nuff," Kiba shrugged. "Shino?"

Shino, in the middle of cleaning his acoustic, shook his head. "I will stay here. I am tired and I need to clean the guitar."

"Want me to bring you back a doggy bag?" Kiba smirked, slinging an arm around Hinata's shoulder as everyone began to file out.

"Just leave," Shino sighed.

Oh shit. Tenten watched them leave and realised, with no small amount of trepidation, that was being left alone with Shino.

The door closed with an ominious bang. Well, a click. But 'click' didn't seem to fit the sheer olympic lineup going on in her chest at that moment.

It was ridiculous. She didn't understand her nervousness, and figured it was stupid to get silly because a guy was nice to you and put you to bed on the tour bus when you passed out in his car. And...had a great body. But still – she was so over that. Completely.

"It's a beautiful bo - guitar," Tenten said suddenly. Her face burned hotly when she realised how close she had come to giving Freud a giggle.

Shino lifted his head, his hands still slicking Fast Fret on the guitar strings and rubbing them down with a fraying cloth. He tilted his head down again, regarding the guitar in his hands. It was a thing of beauty, and Tenten knew that he valued Gibson guitars in particular. The J-185 EC had been one Shino had selected as soon as they found out that the band was going to cut a record deal. It had been with him ever since.

"Everything I..._like_...is played on this guitar," Shino said, and looked frustrated, as if he had phrased his words wrong.

Tenten swallowed, sitting on the floor next to the table and grabbing a bottle of water. She looked up at Shino. The couches weren't very high, so she didn't have to look up much, but he was still high up enough that she got flickers in her stomach. "I can't believe you managed to get so good at guitar and ace school too," she rambled, noticing the taper of his wrists and the skilled motions of his fingers. "Even Slash dropped out for guitar."

Shino's lips twitched at the mention of his idol. He put the Fast Fret away and strummed something that sounded like Dire Straits. "I cared deeply for music even then, but knew the difficulty of breaking into the music business as a career – I did not want to put all of my eggs in one basket, as it were."

"Smart," Tenten nodded. A guy with brains was a guy worth – well. Nevermind. "What would you have done otherwise?"

"Science." He did a rapid series of notes that tinkled like flowing water.

"Ahhh, yeah...studying insects in particular. Right?"

Shino paused. His glasses had been sitting low on his nose, and her position on the floor had kept them concealing his eyes. But at her words, he dropped his head to look at her – right over the top of the shades.

Tenten gulped. Shino's eyes were golden brown, like pure set honey and sticky caramel. Her chest felt tight – she was torn between feeling honoured at being given this chance to see what he kept so resolutely hidden, and a rush of..._something_ that only increased her strange need to know him more.

"You remembered that." It wasn't a question, but she could hear surprise in his voice.

"Of course," Tenten flushed, feeling like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

Shino looked at her, and his eyes were a little too expressive – a little too searching.

She cleared her throat. "I could only ever play one thing well on the guitar – I'm not very musical."

It surprised her how sheepish she sounded. She did regret her lack of musical talent but it had never bothered her until now, with Shino before her.

"You can play a song?" He removed the puce guitar strap (the one she'd gotten him) – from around his neck. Tenten blinked as he held the Gibson out to her.

She gasped. "I couldn't!" It felt wrong – blasphemous – to even be near that guitar. It was beautiful, expensive, something someone skilled should handle, did she mention beautiful? Oh – and it was _Shino's_!

"...I would like to hear," Shino said, an edge of insistence in his voice that told her that no matter how much she protested, he would eventually wear her down. He ignored her stuttered protests and slipped the strap over her neck.

Tenten winced and moved her arms to accommodate the body of the instrument. As she shifted it, it seemed to fit perfectly against her.

"S-sorry if it's bad," she said awkwardly. "It's been awhile."

He had yet to adjust his glasses – he continued watching her with even, golden eyes. They were beginning to unnerve her.

Tenten took a deep breath. She formed her fingers over the fretboard and winced at the roughness of the strings underneath her fingertips. She'd lost the callouses from her original practicing over time, and that meant she'd probably lost the elasticity in her fingers, too.

She began to play.

It was surprising, how well her body remembered the movements and notes. The opening strums hurt – the muscles in her hands hadn't been used in such a way for quite a while. But she quickly got back into the swing of it.

And when she focused on the music, it was a little easier to forget who was watching her.

"_You've got a way with me  
Somehow you got me to believe  
In everything that I could be  
I've gotta say...you really got a way..._"

She'd learned this song when she was staying with her cousin Setsuko, who busked with a cheap acoustic for money at Shinjuku Station. Setsuko had said that Tenten had a nice country-pop voice, and had chosen the song to break her into music.

That acoustic had been nothing like the beautiful sounds coming from this guitar. She was enraptured by the notes it made.

"_You've got a way it seems  
You gave me faith to find my dreams  
You'll never know just what that means  
Can't you see...you got a way with me..._"

She remembered the hustle and bustle of the station, and the long nights practicing on Setsuko's bed while her cousin dried her hair in the bathroom next door. She smiled softly at the memories, surprised at how much easier they made it to achieve the patterns of her fingers on the strings.

"_It's in the way you want me  
It's in the way you hold me  
The way you show me just what love's made of  
It's in the way we make love..._"

Oh god. She stopped playing with a tinny sound on the strings. She ran the lyrics she had just sang through her head again and felt heat rush to her head. She gulped, not wanting to look at Shino but unable to resist.

With the feeling that she was admitting something terrible, she looked up.

"Don't stop playing," he said, his voice filled with something husky and warm that contradicted the careful neutrality on his face. He licked his lips. "Please."

A little dazed, Tenten returned her attention to the guitar. She began to play again, her voice following the lyrics, but it was different. She was suddenly hyper aware of the words, of the tone of her voice. She was aware of who was watching her – the one who she'd been watching in turn, for days now.

She was aware that the guitar in her hands was his, that her fingers were touching over the same places his had. It seemed startlingly intimate.

She was sure it was driving her to make mistakes.

When Shino rose, she nearly gave up and passed the guitar to him. But he made a soft sound in his throat that coaxed her to continue. He knelt behind her – sending her pulse into light speed. She fumbled on the chord she was playing, reeling from his proximity. He was close enough that his chest was brushing her back, and she could feel his warm breath on her neck.

With calloused hands, Shino readjusted her hold on the guitar's body and neck, reforming her fingers over the strings as she played. As he altered her hold, she felt the flow returning to her – though the tenseness never left her body, the warmth of his arms _enclosing_ her, no matter the reason...

It was too much.

He twiddled on one of the tuning knobs, pulling the string back into tune. The other hand lingered on top of her strumming one. Her voice shook as she sang.

As the song came to an end, Tenten felt her pulse racing in her throat. His hand had been following her strumming motions, the other one having moved down from the tuning knobs to lightly circle her wrist.

Tenten gulped – finding her throat dry – and slowly turned her head.

His glasses were gone. The full force of his honeyed gaze, lined with thick lashes, hit her like a semi.

So expressive. So...

Tenten stared at him – at them – a strange pain in her chest and her head from the sudden expectation that was demanding answer. He was closer now – and closer still – his eyes flickering between her eyes and her mouth. She was shocked and curious and...maybe even a little hopeful.

Definitely hopeful.

He was close enough that his breath danced across her mouth. Her lips parted, her eyes wide. His lower lip brushed hers –

"Shino! I forgot to tell you - it's perfect and ready for the O2."

Tenten jerked, her hands cradling the guitar protectively so that she didn't harm it in her surprise. Neji's voice had cut through the moment like the sting of cold water, and she flinched as she turned to watch Neji enter the room.

She waited for the stares – the silence, the accusation.

Neji dropped a stack of paper onto the couch and turned to grab another Asahi. "I'm going for real now – those idiots have probably started ordering without me." He walked out of the room and slammed the door shut behind him.

She felt sucker-punched in the stomach.

Shino stood up and moved towards the couch with sharp, rapid movements. He picked up the paper and looked at it. For a moment, without his glasses, Tenten saw a wash of emotions on his face that took her by surprise – anger, bitterness, a hint of sadness...and something defeated.

She didn't know what had her in a tailspin more – the near kiss, Neji, or the utterly crushing look on his face. She removed the guitar strap from around her neck and stood, holding the Gibson gently by the neck. "Shino?"

He looked up, and seemed to realise how naked his face was. He schooled his features back into neutrality. "This is the newest song for our last performance."

"Ooooh," Tenten nodded. It was cool – if Shino was going to avoid talking about what had just happened, she could too. And she could forget about Neji – just for a little while. Long enough to repair how broken her heart felt, anyway. "Neji finished it already?"

He paused. Then tossed the papers down onto the couch.

Tenten blinked. She looked at Shino.

What if she didn't want to avoid ...whatever had just happened?

"Would you play it?" Tenten asked suddenly.

Shino's lips parted, his eyes widening. "Play...?"

"I'd like to hear." She held the Gibson out. "Please."

He took the guitar, and his fingers brushed hers. The faintest hint of redness appeared on his cheeks. He pulled the strap over his head and sat on the couch.

"What's it called?" She asked, sitting on the table. She looked at his mouth – the slightly full mouth that had almost touched hers moments ago – and wondered just how lost she was.

"Vermillion," Shino replied, without looking at the sheet music. It stayed on the other side of the couch.

He began to play, his fingers confident – never once pausing, never failing to hit the right one. Tenten stared in awe – he'd remembered all of this music right away? From this brand new song?

His eyes were on the guitar as he parted his lips, and his voice was low and rich.

"_She seemed dressed in all of me  
Stretched across my shame  
All the torment and the pain  
Leaped through and covered me..._"

Deeper than Neji's. Darker. Smoother and yet with a much more gravelly edge.

"_I'd do anything to have her to myself  
Just to have her for myself  
Now I don't know what to do  
I don't know what to do  
When she makes me sad..._"

Utterly beautiful.

A thousand times more emotive.

She watched Shino, wondering how someone could have been misjudged by so many people – including herself. He wasn't rigid, he wasn't emotionless.

His voice was struggling against his control, straining with meaning. Maybe...maybe she was imagining it, but...

It was like the perfect moment.

He looked up, his golden eyes intent.

"_She is everything to me  
The unrequited dream  
A song that no one sings  
The unattainable..._"

Something tightened inside her and released. Impossible. Impossible, right?

"_Me? I'm the song that no one sings."_

As he sang through the song, Tenten's head and her heart warred.

How? Why? _Why_?

She didn't know. She didn't understand.

Maybe she was completely reading into things too much.

She never looked away from Shino.

And by the time he finished the song, she knew that no matter what...Vermillion meant, Shino had managed to get under her skin.

And possibly into her heart, too.

"That was incredible," she said, her voice raw. Even when distracted by that third verse, she'd felt like she was in the presence of a musical god. She swallowed. "Why...why don't you sing for the band, Shino? You're voice...the feelings..." She shook her head. "You were one of the originators, right? Why wouldn't you...?"

He made a noise that could have been a snort or a grunt. "I am merely...very in tune with our music. When I am alone with it, I might appear to be an ideal vocalist. But that is because...I am alone with it. And it becomes mine."

Shino looked at Tenten – at her mouth. Then he stood. "You should sleep, Tenten. You look pale."

She blinked. Was he...sending her away? She felt a rush of hurt – before she noticed the strain on his own face. "Okay." She stood, watching him. "For the record...I think you're better."

As soon as she said it, she knew it was true.

His head whipped around towards her, a startled expression on his face.

Tenten smiled, and walked out, leaving Shino alone with his guitar and his thoughts.


	3. Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto, Kishi does.

NOTES: As repeated from the last chapter:

1. This was intended for Metamorphoze originally. However, like Plastic Fangs, this story grew and grew until Metamorphoze wouldn't be able to contain it anymore. So here it is.

2. All of the songs in this story, aside from the ones openly stated as being used as covers, are being used as songs Shino's fictional band, The Sacred, wrote and performed. Obviously the songs were written and belong to the bands/ghost writers, not these fictional characters. But you have to be clear on these things, of course. All set lists for concerts are given at the beginning of each chapter, crediting the actual musicians.

3. There is Neji bashing here. I hate Neji on the best of days, I admit - that's just my personal taste. I do it because a) it's funny to me and b) I see it as helping Shino in his goal to getting tail. Go Shino! But in this fic, Neji's being bashed exceptionally hard because fame has gone to his head. He's the frontman of one of the world's biggest bands - it's gonna happen. So please, Neji fans, don't take this personally. It's a fictional and free fun world.

4. I don't know what it's like to be a PA for a rock band, or anything for that matter. I've also never been backstage at any of these venues, nor do I know how many songs are usually on set lists. I've bluffed my way through this and focused on the pure entertainment value.

5. This came from a dream I had, where I saw Shino as a frontman at a concert and he was singing Tenacious D's The Metal. Rel encouraged me to write rockstar!Shino up (she's the driving force behind most of what I do!) and here he is.

Hope I didn't forget anything there. Thanks to all who have reviewed! Please read, enjoy and review!

This chapter is dedicated to Snowsong a.k.a. Eight-Days-A-Week, who has done some incredible artwork for this fic (see links in my profile) and who is a real credit to the ShinoTen fandom. Thanks so much hun! As opposed to my original plans, this will now be four chapters long (I mean it this time!). So this is the real penultimate chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

The O2 arena. No matter what way anyone looked at it, the Dome was one of the biggest wastes of money England had achieved in a long time, though as a stage it had begun to reach some sort of potential. As a landmark, Tenten didn't think much of it – Buckingham Palace and Big Ben were much better landmarks than the Dome or even the London Eye.

It was kind of ugly. A pimple on the land.

Still, she knew how prestigious the O2 was when it came to entertainment, so she was proud of how hard the band rehearsed for their night on the stage.

By the time the tour bus pulled into central London, Tenten felt like a car wreck.

Not a single mention of that near kiss, of that moment shared in Brixton. Nothing.

Maybe she was overreacting here – hell, it's not like she'd know. Nothing like this had ever happened before. What she did know is that she'd expected something to have changed, something between her and Shino to have moved under a different spotlight.

Granted...the few times they were alone together had made the air so thick it was like trying to breathe underwater (though it could have been the muggy weather, which was continuing on with a vengeance). But that was all that ever happened – charged atmosphere.

Shino had been mercurial ever since that night. Sometimes, his moods turned his bitch fuse into a unit of dynamite in 0.1 seconds. Only last night, Hidan's usual commentary on how badly Shino needed to get laid was cut short when the guitarist whipped around, his lips in a thin line, and snapped, "You have a zit on your forehead."

Tenten had never heard a noise like the one Hidan made come from a man before (or a woman, for that matter). She hoped she never had to hear it again.

Tenten wiped her forehead as she got off of the tour bus at their designated hotel drop off, her denim cutoff shorts and tank doing nothing to fend off the sunlight. She clutched her chilled bottle of water close to her as if it was a lifeline. Screams and catcalls were filling the air, and she looked around at the hoards of screaming fans that had gathered. How they'd found out the bed and board of The Sacred was a mystery, and Tenten knew that Temari would have the band moved to a more secret location as soon as possible.

But good sports that they were, the band was doing the rounds, taking photos and signing autographs. Tenten's eyes were immediately drawn to where Shino was signing a girl's hoodie, a tiny smile on his lips and a large duffel slung over his shoulder. His sunglasses hid his gaze, but she could imagine the warmth in his golden eyes.

Eyes she hadn't seen since that time, but which she had felt on her. He was unashamed in his watching of her – seriously annoying, since he didn't say more than a few syllables lately. Not to her, anyway.

Feeling petulant, Tenten fought against the urge to stick her bottom lip out and looked elsewhere. Neji was posing with a group of girls, looking completely at home under the flash of digital cameras. Tenten could have sworn she saw some of them slipping pieces of paper to him.

She sighed and looked down at her hands. It still hurt. Seeing Neji in this light, and with Shino muddying the waters further...it wasn't easy. She used to be a pretty black and white person when it came to things like this. Suddenly, she wasn't sure of anything.

Huffing, Tenten wandered over the where the band was grouping, trying to break away from the gaggle of fans. The sunlight beat down on them and she felt envious of Hinata, Temari and Gaara, who were all inside the hotel and out of the monstrous heat.

As if in agreement, they all moved as one to go into the building, the guys turning to wave as they went in through the door. She looked over her shoulder at the fans – at the one whose hoodie Shino had signed. She wondered (irrationally) if that girl had realised how lucky she was, that he'd paid attention to her – _spoken_ to her.

"Those are some pretty serious thoughts to be having on a day like this."

Kiba's 1000 watt grin was infectious, and Tenten had to respond. How he could stay so cheerful in the raging testosterone pit that was the tour bus was anyone's guess. Especially since, as the only member of the band other than Shikamaru to actually have a woman, he was the envy of the more violent bandmates.

Even Kankurou, who couldn't hold a relationship for longer than two rounds of sex (yeah, she knew that – he was pretty vocal about it. She wouldn't be surprised if aliens in outer space knew about it), liked to lay into the Inuzuka. Shikamaru got away with a lot of it, not just because he didn't respond but because no one envied him the task of keeping up with Ino.

"You a mind reader?" Tenten asked, leaning against the counter in the lobby. The clerks were absent, probably talking with Temari about the privacy breach. Neji slipped through the door behind the counter, going to investigate Temari's interrogation.

"Don't have to be," Kiba shrugged, moving next to her. "You're inches away from monologue, I can tell."

"You better not go all fucking Shakespeare," Hidan muttered, looking around. The lobby was empty aside from them – Temari had booked a place where there wouldn't be too many guests, to ensure the band's privacy. "Where the hell is the manager? We need to sort this shit out, seriously."

The manager? Tenten grimaced. So that's how bad things were now, huh? "_Temari_ is sorting it out right now," Tenten replied, raising an eyebrow at the drummer. She unscrewed her water and took a sip.

He snorted and rolled his violet eyes. He looked as immaculate as ever, but she couldn't help but notice that he looked worn down. Tired.

"I don't think they've sorted things out since the Neji moment," Kiba murmured into her ear. "If I thought it wouldn't end in a fight to the death, I'd lock them up in a cupboard." It struck Tenten that they looked a little compromising. Kiba was pressed against her side, his lips close to her ear. And Kiba oozed sex even when he was vomiting after a drinking binge, so he must have been looking pretty suggestive right about then. She knew it didn't mean anything, but she was more than a little glad no fans were inside right now.

"Stop stirring." Tenten twitched in surprise as Shino appeared next to Kiba, his brows furrowed above his shades. "Don't you have a girlfriend to spend time with, rather than playing with the troubles of others?"

Kiba folded his arms, crossing his legs at the ankles, and cocked a brow. "Don't get pissy with me, bro. If you want your lady, make a play for her."

Shino sucked in a breath and held it. Tenten felt floored. She was curious, hopeful and...anxious. All at the same time. It was a fight to keep the emotional battlefront from her face as she studied Shino for some sort of answer.

"'Course, if you're _that_ frustrated, you could always bump noses with one of those screaming ladies out there," Kiba smirked. "I'm sure they'd be more than happy to – "

She couldn't even explain it to herself – it didn't involve much thinking on her part. In a snap reaction, Tenten's arm shot out with the intention of dumping her water bottle on Kiba's head. It would have been a good plan – very satisfying for her, anyway. If it had worked.

Kiba was a little sharper than she'd given him credit for, and he batted her arm aside with a speed that confused her – until she saw her Evian gush out all over Shino's shirt.

All three of them stared blankly at Shino's chest, where his crew-neck black shirt now stuck to the contours of his body. Shino's eyebrows were raised, his lips parted in surprise. Kiba was snickering.

Tenten could only stare. The only way she'd be able to see more would be if his shirt was see-through. _Dear god_.

"Wow, you're forward," Kankurou hooted from across the lobby.

"Shut up, moron," Shikamaru said, yawning.

Tenten flushed. Oh god, she'd just soaked Shino. Oh god oh god oh god. " – oh _god_," she gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth. "I'm so sorry! I – I meant to get Ki...I mean. GOD!"

Great. If he'd been avoiding her before, now he'd double his efforts. Why hang around with a chick who randomly flings water over you, right?

God, she could see his nipples.

She turned bright red and looked away, catching Hidan's grin over Shino's shoulder. She'd never live this down. Ever.

"Don't worry." She jerked her head up. Was that amusement she'd heard? His face didn't show anything. "Accidents happen." He turned over to where he'd dropped his duffel onto one of the lobby's seats. He unzipped the bag and pulled out a white shirt.

He pulled the black shirt over his head, the stretching pulling the muscles in his torso in liquid motions. Tenten stared stupidly, her mouth hanging open. Her eyes were drawn to his tattoo as he dropped the wet shirt into the bag and picked up the white one.

What was it with rock stars and amazing bodies? What was it with _Shino_ and leaving her speechless?

He pulled the white shirt on, and his movements were deliberate. He had to have noticed her unabashed staring, but she couldn't help it – couldn't stop, either. He straightened out his t-shirt and turned to face them fully. "Where is Temari?"

Tenten felt the world drop away from beneath her feet. If she wasn't seeing it, she'd never have believed it. Ever.

Shino's white t-shirt stated, in black letters, 'If you don't like oral sex, keep your mouth shut'.

The same t-shirt that...

The air had disappeared, it had to have done. No matter how much she tried to breathe, it wouldn't work. She stared with wide eyes.

"Out back." Gaara appeared, moody creases between his eyes. "Hotel worker was the leak. Temari's showing her appreciation."

"Ahhh." Shino nodded, and took off his beanie. His hair was spiked up in messy directions, and he only ruffled it further with his fingertips. "I will see if she needs assistance." Without a further glance in her direction, Shino went through the same door Neji had a few moments ago.

Tenten whirled on Kiba. "What the hell?"

"Huh?" Kiba shrugged, scratching his head. "Hey, did something happen with you two?" He grinned and his eyes twinkled. "I mean, you were giving him some pretty intense eye humping just now."

She flushed. "Shut up! That t-shirt – it's _Shino's_?!"

She'd left it out, cleaned and ironed, for whoever had given it to her that night to take. She'd been hoping to find out who it was, but had never seen who retrieved it. Never in a million years would she have imagined it was his.

"Well, yeah," Kiba said, a little too innocently. He'd known all along, that rat. She wanted to beat him up. "Slash is his idol, right? He had the exact same t-shirt – only makes sense for a die-hard fan to do the same, dont'cha think?"

...as easy as that? The answer had been that all along? Tenten felt ridiculous for making a snap judgment. Did she really know Shino well enough to think that he wouldn't have a t-shirt like that?

Did that mean he'd been the one she partied with? It had to mean that. Why had he never said anything?

Why had they always been so distant?

"What happened?" Kiba asked, his voice surpisingly gentle.

She wasn't fond of telling him – anyone, really. But she also felt like she might burst if she didn't vent some of these feelings.

"He nearly kissed me," she breathed, staring at her empty water bottle. "He played a song for me. Let me play his guitar."

"Wait – he let you play his _guitar_?" Kiba gaped. He stood up straight and fixed Tenten with an accusing look. "That sexy guitar – he let _you_ play it? I tried to get him to let me play it once, and he hit me in the head with a bloody traffic cone."

"...a traffic cone?" Tenten blinked.

"I know, right?" Kiba huffed. He rolled his eyes. "Okay, so when's the wedding? Or the apocalypse – that could mean either one."

She groaned.

"What apocalypse?" Gaara asked. He ignored the 'no smoking sign' at the counter and lit a joint.

"Gaara," Tenten asked, wanting the views of someone outside of the whole mess. "Have you ever noticed anything about Shino...well, do you know if Shino...?" She didn't know how to phrase it.

"Wants Tenten in a horizontal, naked way," Kiba supplied.

Gaara snorted, blowing smoke out of his nostrils. "I know that. Of course I know that – everyone knows that." He fixed his teal eyes on Tenten and raised a nonexistent brow. "You're slow, aren't you?"

She growled.

"Watch this," Gaara smirked. "Hey, Hidan. Do you know who Shino likes?"

Hidan stopped in the middle of grinding a small chunk of weed. "Yeah, he's hung up over _that_ fucking PA chick, right?" He pointed at Tenten. "I don't remember your name, sorry. It's the fucking weed, messes with memory mojo, seriously."

"My brother's an idiot, right?" Gaara said.

"Well yeah, I guess..." Tenten felt bewildered.

"Kankurou – does Shino like anyone right now?"

Kankurou, looking out the window at the mass of fans still gathered outside, laughed and yelled over his shoulder, "Yeah, I swear his dream version of Tenten has had like a thousand babies by no – " He looked over and saw Tenten staring at him, dumbstruck. "Oh...hi Tenten...forgot you were there."

Unbelievable. Tenten shook her head. It was too much to take in. "Wait, so...he _likes _me, and none of you guys ever said anything?"

"You were kinda meant to figure it out for yourself," Kiba drawled. "It's not like there haven't been hints. You were just too busy...looking elsewhere."

Oh, now she felt bad. Really bad. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Was it true? Had she been so into Neji that she never noticed Shino?

It was true. Now that she thought about it, he'd done everything he could to help her – to make life easier on her. Her PA job had been a helluva lot easier because of Shino's help, sometimes. He'd never been anything less than patient and kind. Had always cared about her welfare.

He'd never forced his attentions on her. He'd waited. Silently.

She felt a rush of affection for him.

And, like that, she knew. Neji hadn't done half of the things Shino had done for her. Never looked at her. Never made her feel warm from deep inside her when she thought about him.

She wasn't confused anymore.

"Thanks, Gaara," she said quietly.

"Whatever." He snorted. But Tenten knew, even if he hadn't said anything for her sake, he'd done it for Shino because Shino was one of the main reasons he was allowed to travel with the band. Shino had stuck up for him when the others had been skeptical.

"How are things with your girl?" Tenten asked.

Gaara stiffened. "I told you. She's _not_ – "

"I'm sure she is," Tenten said quickly. "I mean, if she was annoyed at you it means she cares. You should talk to her."

Gaara glared at her. There was something spiteful in his look – more defensive than hateful – and he looked away with a sneer. "Whatever."

Well. Whatever was better than 'fuck off', she supposed.

* * *

Tenten felt panicked. The arena was so packed for the concert that the chants of the fans were deafening. Even though several bands were opening up for The Sacred, the breaks in between gigs were filled with the yells for the headlining group.

The crowds seemed to get bigger with every gig, and her anxiety grew with it.

She hadn't had a chance to talk to Shino – or to anyone, for that matter. Until now, she'd been running around arranging things at breakneck speed. A lot of time had been spent repairing her own mistakes, too, because she was constantly being distracted by the memory of a white t-shirt and the body it was covering. The tattoo.

Tenten entered the band's room with a sigh. Less than half an hour until their gig.

She looked around. Shikamaru was reclining in front of the TV, a bottle of Heineken in his hand. He wore his usual mesh shirt, with a pair of baggy jeans and a green flak jacket. Hidan was primping in front of the mirror, shirtless and wearing tight leather pants. Tenten's eyes were drawn to his fan tattoo – the only one of his tattoos that wasn't religious or of a pinup girl.

Neji was doing vocal warm-up exercises. To Tenten, they sounded like a series of coughs and squeaks, but he swore they worked so everyone turned a blind eye. He was dressed sharply, in a silvery button-up shirt and black dress pants. His hair was braided.

Kiba was sitting down, using Hinata's compact mirror and careful fingers to stick A Clockwork Orange-inspired false eyelashes around his right eye. His outfit was very Alex DeLarge inspired, too – only black, minus the codpiece, and with the button-up shirt opened to reveal a bit of chest.

Kankurou, already wearing his purple kabuki paint, was chugging his beer and watching Hidan with wary eyes. He'd noticed the strange tension between the drummer and his sister, but was so unsure of what to make of it that he hadn't brought it up. He wore a black and white striped vest top and camouflage cargo pants.

Temari was on the phone in the corner of the room. She looked tired and sweaty and fed up. Every time Tenten had tried to speak to her, the woman had clammed up tighter than a bear trap. She'd given up eventually and left Temari to her business. Kiba was right – she was stubborn.

Gaara was absent. Which left...

Tenten's gaze fell on Shino. It was incredible, how he coul be dressed so simply and look outstanding. He wore tight black jeans and a tight, longsleaved dark gray and black striped sweatshirt that he'd rolled up to his elbows. The neckline was wide and loose, and his Slash plectrum hung down against his chest. He'd forgone the beanie, leaving his hair loose and spiky, and he wore a pair of Oakley Oil Rig shades.

Nothing special, and nothing _more_ special at the same time.

Tenten blushed and looked down. She wanted to believe that he had a thing for her. Wanted to believe his absence had been to give them a breather. But she couldn't help the self-conscious doubt that tingled.

"Okay guys." Temari hung up the phone and rubbed her temples. "This is our last UK gig, so let's make it good."

"We're always good," Kiba smirked.

"Chill out, sis," Kankurou agreed, burping loudly.

"So troublesome," Shikamaru said. "I can't wait to go back home."

"Oh, can't you?!"

Everyone winced and turned as one to the door, where Ino stood red-faced and ready to blow. If steam could come out of her ears it would have, and Shikamaru immediately shrank back against the couch.

"I-Ino?" He gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to find out if you were dead," Ino sneered, stalking into the room. "You know, since you couldn't be bothered to answer your phone."

"It's not – "

"SHUT UP!"

Tenten winced. The others all averted their eyes, aside from Hidan, who stared shamelessly.

"I get all the way here," Ino growled, "and you don't even have the decency to be dead! There's no excuse for ignoring your wife, none!" She started hitting him with her Louis Vuitton handbag.

"Damn it Ino," Shikamaru yelled, struggling to block her blows and get away. "Will you listen!"

"Oh, _now_ you're ready to talk to me," she snarled. She landed a blow on his head and he yelped. "Do you have any idea how it's been, sitting at home, scared shitless and pregnant, wondering why you won't answer me?!"

"Ino, I'm sorry, I – pregnant?" Shikamaru paled. "You're...? Since when?"

The horror-filled tone wasn't helping. Ino went from pissed to mega pissed in seconds flat. She grabbed something out of her handbag and flung it at her husband. "You jerk! I wanted to tell you properly, wanted to save this to show you when you got home – YOU CAN'T EVEN BE PLEASED I'M PREGNANT!"

Shikamaru stared dumbly at what was in his hands – which he soon recognised to be a pregnancy test.

"Dude," Kankurou hissed. Shikamaru looked at him. "Put it down! She peed on that." Shikamaru dropped it quickly and cringed.

Ino's eyebrow twitched. "You were pleased enough to put it in me, not that I felt it – "

Hidan started to laugh.

" – but you don't wanna have to put up with the consequences, do you? Not that'd you know _anything _about that. You probably only ever had your hand before I came along, right?"

Hidan's laughter turned to hysterical bellows of glee.

"Come on then, loser. What's the big excuse?" She started hitting him with her bag again. "I'm waiting!"

"My phone doesn't have a charger!" Shikamaru hissed, exasperated.

Ino stilled her blows. "What?"

"I lost my charger in Australia," her husband cowered. "It's been dead. And the times I tried to call you from a payphone, you weren't in!"

She glared at him. "You could've text from one of these guys' phones."

"Tch. Like they'd let me."

"It's true," Kiba nodded. "We don't do charity."

"You're rich," Ino countered. "You could have bought another one."

"I never had the time!" Shikamaru whined.

"That's what a PA is for!" Ino snapped. She looked at Tenten. "Right?"

Tenten's mouth opened and closed as she tried to reply to the angry woman.

"No one wants to get shouted at," Shikamaru said quietly.

Tenten looked at him. What did he mean by that?

Ino took a deep breath. "That's really all it was? Your charger?"

"I swear it was," Shikamaru said, bending down to pick up the pregnancy test tentatively. "Look...can we go somewhere more private...?"

Hidan wiped tears out of his eyes. "Should've asked that five fucking minutes ago, moron. Best thing ever, seriously." Ino punched him in the gut.

Tenten shook her head, and her eyes met Shino's. Well, his shades, anyway.

He looked as exasperated as she felt. She smiled and shrugged, widening her eyes for the 'what the fuck' effect. His lips twitched.

"Tenten!" Temari snapped her fingers to get her attention. "You better get downstairs and start prepping. The band'll be down in a few, as soon as Shikamaru's grown a pair."

Tenten snickered. "Right." With one last glance at Shino, she turned and darted off.

She found Gaara backstage, where he usually liked to sit. But she noticed something different. Maybe it was the lack of joint in his mouth, or maybe it was the alertness in his eyes. It made her do a double take. "Gaara?"

He looked over at her. "Are they getting ready?"

"Yeah...Ino turned up. Started hitting Shikamaru."

Gaara smirked. "Really."

"Yeah. He said he couldn't contact her because his charger disappeared."

"Yeah, I know." Gaara stretched. "I threw it out."

"You...what?" Tenten blinked at him.

"I figured something like this would happen," he shrugged. "That loser stole my last cigarette after the Sydney performance. So I figured – hasten him to his death."

"You are diabolical," Tenten breathed, awed.

"Sakura thinks so too," he smirked.

"...you called her?" She asked, widening her eyes.

"Yes." Gaara looked down, unreadable emotions flickering over his face. "I'll see her when we get back home."

"That's good. Great." She meant it, too.

"Sure." He moved away and sat down where he could get a good backstage view of the stage.

By the time the band arrived on stage, Tenten had worked herself into a nervous sweat. They opened with an old favourite – My Own Prison – and slid easily into their cover of November Rain, which they'd performed with Slash himself in the USA tour. It had been one of the few times she'd seen Shino smiling openly. Coincidentally (or not), it was around that time that he'd attracted his biggest hoard of fangirls.

She watched him. Every movement was smooth, every note perfect. If he was aware of her watching, he gave no indication. His focus was entirely on their set and the fans singing along, cheering and waving lighters in the air.

As the evening wound down to an end, Neji approached the mic, his hair dampened with sweat. "This is one of our newest songs, available on our new album. We'll leave you with this one, as a thank you and a good night! It's Vermillion."

Tenten gasped. She unconsciously leaned closer to the curtain. Her mind was replaying Shino's voice, his eyes, his hands. The perfection of the song, of the moment. She watched him as he strummed the guitar. Hidan's drumming was perfectly timed, the suspense building over the crowd and in Tenten's chest.

Here it came. Here it...

"_She seemed dressed in all of me,_

_Stretched across my shame,_

_All the torment and the pain,_

_Leaped through and covered me..._"

She frowned. Of course – it wasn't Shino singing it. It wasn't that moment, with the vermillion guitar and the charged air. This was someone else singing it – someone who wasn't emotionally involved, someone who wasn't singing the lyrics as if they meant them.

Shino's version...was so much better. _He _was so much better. She'd said it before, on that night, and she was saying it now. Meaning it just as much.

Long after the show had ended, Tenten stood by the balcony doors of her hotel room and stared out into the cool night, making her think of Shino at the fire escape doors in Earl's Court. That was probably the moment everything had changed. It was hard to imagine a time when she hadn't seen him for what he really was. When she hadn't noticed the way he looked at her, helped her.

"The song that no one sings, the unattainable..." She sang softly to herself. It made her feel choked – it was stupid, so crazy, but it made her feel choked.

Pushing away from the doors, she left her hotel room and walked down the corridor. She didn't know what to do or what to say. But she was a practical girl, and she knew that hanging around waiting wasn't her style – it would only make her feel worse in the long run.

She stopped at Shino's door and took a deep breath. Her heart was like a jackhammer, her sweat not just because of the heat. "Sh-Shino?" She knocked again, but couldn't hear anything.

Cautiously, she tried the doorknob – gulping when the door opened. Okay, it was unlocked. Did that...mean she had any right to enter?

She hovered, uncertain. Then decided to bite the bullet. She stepped into the hotel room, looking around with wide eyes. She felt as if he was hiding somewhere, waiting for her. Waiting to see what she did.

Stepping into the room, Tenten tried to call out his name, but her voice stuck in her throat. She swallowed and licked her lips. On a guitar stand by one of the armchairs was his acoustic guitar.

"_That sexy guitar – he let you play it? I tried to get him to let me play it once, and he hit me in the head with a bloody traffic cone."_

Was that guitar so important to Shino? He'd let _her_ play it. It had fit against her perfectly, the shade of vermillion vibrant and inviting in her hands –

_Vermillion..._

She frowned. There was an overall sense of something not being right. Something strange. She turned, preparing to leave, and her shin knocked against a table. Her hands swung out to prevent the paperwork on top of it from falling off, and she stared at the top sheet.

The lyrics to Vermillion, scrawled in neat black ink.

Not in Neji's handwriting.


	4. Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto, Kishi does.

NOTES: So this is it - the end! I want to thank EVERYONE for their support and reviews, I greatly appreciate it. I give special thanks to Rel and Eight-Days-A-Week, whose gifts and encouragement have helped bring Vermillion to an end. You can definitely expect more ShinoTen fics from me, as well as the completion of the other stories in my profile.

I leave you now with three things - one, the reminder that there is a poll at the top of my profile for your favourite Metamorphoze oneshot. Two, if you are enjoying ShinoTen as a pairing and would like to stay updated on stories and artwork, then please join the ShinoTen FC at the Naruto Forums - the link is in my profile. Three - the set list for the O2 concert, which I forgot to put at the beginning of the last chapter.

Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy!

~Kaida

* * *

SET LIST FOR THE O2 SHOW

Creed – My Own Prison

Guns N' Roses – November Rain (Cover)

Papa Roach – Getting Away With Murder

Tenacious D – Tribute

Slipknot – Vermillion Pt.2 Bloodstone Remix

* * *

Her eyes widened. She thumbed through the pages. Guitar tablature in the same ink. Lyrics to other songs, including Dear Lover.

_Dear lover, do you remember..._

All in the same handwriting. A careful, flowing script without thrills and sometimes missing the dot above the i. The handwriting on fans' hoodies, on Christmas cards, birthday cards...

Tenten straightened, feeling like she'd taken a blow to the head. Shino.

Shino was the composer for The Sacred.

But...in all the interviews, every time someone had spoken about it...they'd always made out as if Neji was the one behind the composition, the lyrics. He'd talken about inspirations, about _fate_, about the hard work that went into every song...

"_Ooooh, Neji finished it already?" _

She flinched. She'd believed that. Had said as much to Shino. And he hadn't said a word against it. Why?

She could remember a band interview where Neji had been talking about the lyrics to one of their songs, and how easy that could be to write when you'd experienced 'that level of fated love yourself'...and she remembered Shino, sitting impassively to Neji's right, saying nothing. His sunglasses hiding his eyes and his high-collared jacket hiding his mouth.

Silent.

Why?

Why was Neji taking credit for what he didn't deserve?

Tenten felt choked – angry, sad, horrified. It was injustice – complete injustice, that Shino had to sit through everyone praising Neji for his work. How could they? How _could_ they?

How could _she_?

Something had to be done.

Gulping, Tenten stormed out of the room.

As she strode up the corridor, her cheeks burned. She knocked on Temari's door, gritting her teeth together so hard that her jaw ached.

The blond woman opened her door and eyed Tenten. "Tenten...are you okay?"

"No. I'm not." Tenten could see that Temari was stressed – there was even a hint of redness to her eyes. But her anger outweighed her concern. "How could you let this happen?"

Temari blinked. "What?"

"I'm talking about the interviews. The interviews, and the videos, and the comments – Neji being made out to be the next Gackt, when he's nothing more than a fraud?"

Temari grimaced, and pulled Tenten into her room. "Keep your voice down."

"I won't!" Tenten hissed. "Why? Why would you let them do that to him?"

"It's business," Temari snapped. She winced. "Look...Neji has a big fanbase. Big. And you need a big fanbase to kick off as a band. For as long as they all thought the sun shined out of Neji's ass, we had the foundations to build ourselves on. I was planning on revealing the composer when we were big enough that it wouldn't matter."

"That's so shallow," Tenten said sadly. She could see the predicament – she really could. But it was like a slap to Shino's face. That his lack of popularity with hormonal girls cost him his credit. Poor, poor Shino.

"I know," Temari sighed. "It wasn't even my idea to begin with."

"Whose was it?" If it was Shino's, it would break her heart.

"Guess," the manager said wryly. "Or rather, it wasn't really an idea. More like 'taking the initiative'."

Taking the initiative? Was that what they were going to call it? It sounded like a poor excuse – like cheap icing on a stale cake.

Tenten stared. Then walked out.

"Tenten!"

She could hear Temari following her, but she carried on walking. She knew that he'd be in the lounge, playing poker. That was what he always liked to do in hotels – gamble the small hours away, for money or cigarettes – whichever one he craved at the time.

He was sitting at a table with Kiba, Shikamaru and Kankurou. Hidan, Ino and Hinata were sitting around the plasma TV. Shino was nowhere in sight.

Tenten felt Temari grab her arm and she shook it off. It wasn't a big deal to most people – maybe once upon a time, it wouldn't have been a big deal to her.

But it felt personal. Shino had done so much, been so kind. He took his work seriously – now that she knew Vermillion was his, she knew what it meant to him. She'd heard what it meant to him in his voice, even after she'd called it Neji's.

"_I am merely...very in tune with our music. When I am alone with it, I might appear to be an ideal vocalist. But that is because...I am alone with it. And it becomes mine."_

His. They _were _his. And they were taken away from him every time he had to perform those songs in Neji's name.

And Tenten wanted to see. She wanted to face Neji and see if she could still see in him what she used to.

"How could you do that?" She asked, her voice wavering.

Everyone looked at her.

She glared at Neji, who raised an eyebrow.

"How can you say it's your music? Before it was even _business_, how could you do that?"

Hidan stood up from his position on the couch, watching the scene with furrowed brows. His violet eyes were cold when they regarded Neji.

"It was what was best for the band," Neji shrugged, toying with a playing card between his index and middle fingers. "I wouldn't expect you to understand that."

"Best?" Tenten cried, laughing in disbelief. "That's so arrogant! You honestly believe the success of the band revolved around you?"

"Didn't it?" Neji said. "_You_ didn't seem too bothered."

"Oh, he did _not_," Ino gasped, and Shikamaru shushed her.

She felt cold. She couldn't see it – couldn't see what had kept her so blind for so long. What had she ever seen in him?

"Leave it, Tenten," Temari growled.

"No!" She shook Temari's hands off again. "I may be a lowly PA, and I may not be a musician, but I know it's not right to reap the glory of someone else's hard work!"

"T-Tenten..." Hinata winced.

"Hear hear," Hidan clapped.

"Shut up," Neji snapped.

"No, I don't think I will," Hidan retorted, striding up to the table. "See, I've been kinda sick of you for a long fucking time. I wanna hear this. Everyone should hear this, seriously."

"I can't believe I ever liked you," Tenten breathed, glaring at Neji. The singer stood up and fixed her with a cold stare. "You're nothing but a poser."

Neji grabbed Tenten's wrist tightly, his face twisting with anger. Her heart jumped with fear.

"Oh no you don't!" Hidan snarled, stepping forwards. Kankurou and Kiba's chairs squealed as they shoved them back to stand up.

Before Hidan could do anything, a pale hand grabbed the front of Neji's shirt tightly.

"You will let go _now_," Shino demanded, his voice low. Tenten looked over at him, surprised to see his shades missing and his wolfish eyes narrowed with anger that didn't show on the rest of his face. Behind him, Gaara watched with cool eyes.

Neji let go of Tenten's wrist, knocking Shino's hand off of his shirt and stepping back. "She's mouthing off out of place," he sneered. "You wanna put a leash on her?"

"Shut the fuck up," Hidan yelled, slamming his hand down on the table top. "It wasn't out of place, you lying sack of shit. It's well deserved and you know it."

"What's going on?" Shino asked, his voice tight. His hands had taken Tenten's arm and he looked at her wrist, which had reddened under Neji's grip. She bit her lip at the contact, finding it a little crazy that even in a moment like _this _she could blush under his stare.

"Tenten knows you're the composer," Kiba said.

"It's wrong," Tenten ground out around her anger and the tears that threatened to come. "Why should he get all of the credit? It's wrong!"

Shino stared at her, his eyes unreadable. His brows were drawn down over his eyes, his hair falling in random spikes over his forehead. She wished she could tell what he was thinking.

"It bothers you?" He said eventually, his voice curious.

"Hell yes it does! Please say it bothers _you_," she frowned.

"Tenten..." His hands tightened subtly around her wrist – not enough to cause pain, but in a strangely imploring way that made her breath catch in her throat.

"Touching as this is," Neji yawned, "we need to get back to reality."

"Yeah," Hidan said – his voice serious. So serious that the tension in the room spiked. "Let's. Gaara, Kankurou..."

"Don't," Temari said, her voice almost pleading.

"You know, I was gonna keep quiet, because I really fucking like your sister no matter how much of a bitch she is sometimes," Hidan said. Temari's eyes widened, her cheeks reddening. "But I don't think this fuckface should get away with groping her and not listening when she says she's not interested, seriously."

As one, the Sabaku brothers turned to look at Neji. Their expressions matched – Gaara's leaning a little more towards the 'DIE BITCH DIE' than Kankurou's.

"You..._what_?" Kankurou snarled.

"They're never going to find your body," Gaara said.

"Enough," Shino said softly. He'd never looked away from Tenten. He finally did, fixing Neji with his even stare. "Whether I wanted it...or not...it was a business move, to credit Neji as the composer. I cannot resent that, not now. Not this far into the game." He looked at his bandmates. "But it has gone on for too long."

"Fine," Neji shrugged. "You want a big show of outing yourself as the writer? Be my guest." He folded his arms, fixing Shino with a petulant stare.

"A big show is not what this band is about," Shino replied, his voice even and calm. "And that is why you are no longer needed."

Neji's expression froze. "What?"

Shino's voice had lilted, the sharpness behind it cutting through the tension and severing it with finality. "You have been useful to a degree, but you have become little more than a circus clown. Why? You do not act like a musician. You have taken advantage, time and again, and treated people badly along the way." His fingers, still on her wrist, gave a gentle stroke. "If you believe that we would suffer without you, you are wrong."

Hidan started to clap. Kiba hid his grin behind his hand.

"You're joking," Neji blustered, but there was panic in his voice. "I've been headlining this freakshow since the beginning – you can't honestly think you can ditch me and – "

"We can," Shino said. "We are." A small smirk touched his lips. "Gaara, Kankurou, Hidan. Please escort Neji off of the premises. He is trespassing on privately rented property."

All three grinned big shark grins. They grabbed Neji by his arms. The vocalist was about to yell, but Hidan clamped a hand around his mouth. "No you don't, lady boy." They marched him out, right past Temari, with the sounds of Neji's muffled yells fading down the hallway.

"Holy shit," Temari breathed.

"See," Ino growled, throwing a Jimmy Choo heel at Shikamaru. "This is what you're meant to be calling home about. If I hadn't flown out here, I would have missed that."

"That was..." Tenten blinked. She didn't know what to think or feel – the whole moment felt unreal. She'd been reacting on impulse in her anger, confronting Neji like that. It had been stupid of her – she wasn't exactly in any position to raise an issue like that. Now, because of her tantrum, The Sacred had been split. Their lead singer had been flung out, and was no doubt receiving the beating of his life as they stood there.

"I hope they're out of sight of fans," Temari stated simply. Tenten gaped at her. "Oh, come on. The asshole has it coming."

"How does your wrist feel?" Shino asked Tenten, looking at it again.

Tenten couldn't speak for a moment. She simply looked at him – in awe of him. The way he'd taken charge of the moment, so quickly and completely, spoke volumes. But then, hadn't that _always_ been his way?

She suddenly remembered to speak.

"Fine," she lied. It felt like it was burning, actually.

"He should not have done that," the guitarist said. "It was the straw that broke the camel's back."

Gaara and Kankurou came back into the lounge.

"Back so soon?" Kiba asked, amused.

"Yeah. Hidan wanted some more alone time with him," Kankurou smirked. He looked at Temari. "I like him. I guess it wouldn't be too big a deal if you dated him."

Temari banged her head against the doorframe.

"This is wonderful and all," Shikamaru said. "But we now have no lead singer. And we're meant to cut the last few bits on our album."

"That's not a problem," Shino said. "We have all known for some time that Kiba should be our vocalist."

Kiba's head snapped up, his eyes wide. The hand that had been clutching a bottle of Asahi twitched, knocking the bottle over. The last of the beer inside made a small puddle on the table. "Wh-what?" He looked at Shino. "Seriously?"

Shino nodded.

"Kiba-kun..." Hinata smiled.

Tenten watched as Kiba grinned and high-fived Kankurou, pulling Hinata in close.

"And now we're missing a rhythm guitarist," Shikamaru drawled.

"Are we?" Shino asked mildly. "I suppose we are." He turned, slowly, to face the youngest Sabaku. "How would you feel about taking the position?"

Silence reigned. Gaara stared at Shino, his eyes wide. Tenten watched the feelings flit over his face. Gaara showed more emotion in those few moments than she'd ever seen on his face before.

"Fine," was what he said.

Tenten translated it is – FUCK YEAH!

She beamed at him – couldn't help it. He was a freaky kid but man, was this perfect. He'd still be successful even though he wasn't in school. It would prove something to his Sakura.

"I think I need to sit down," Temari breathed. She flopped onto the arm of a chair. Ino offered her chocolate.

"How do you think the fans will take it?" Kankurou asked, clapping Gaara on the shoulder. The young redhead was starting to look very pleased with himself.

"It will take some adjustments," Shino said, "But our music will be better than ever. It will win them over."

Hidan suddenly stumbled in, his hair disarrayed. He grinned, his eyes alight, and looked around. "What'd I miss?"

"Kiba's our singer, Gaara's our rhythm, and Temari doesn't care that you sniff her underwear anymore," Kankurou replied offhandedly.

"Fuckin' A," Hidan smirked, strolling over to the couch.

"He sniffs my underwear?" Temari growled. "How did he even get my underwear?"

All eyes turned to Gaara.

"I had to pay for weed somehow," Gaara stated.

Temari yelled as Hidan flopped onto the couch and pulled her onto his lap. She beat against his chest with her fists, growling profanities, until Hidan silenced them with his lips and tongue. She didn't seem to object to _that_.

"Hey, just because I said you could defile my sister doesn't mean you can do it in front of me," Kankurou muttered, looking away.

"You're just jealous because you're single," Gaara remarked.

"WHAT! So are you!"

"No," Gaara replied.

"DAMN IT!"

Tenten watched with wide eyes. These had to be the strangest people she'd ever met. None of them seemed bothered by the fact that had Neji clearly just had twelve kinds of crap kicked out of him, and the shift in ranks was taken with a pinch of salt.

She felt like she was going to faint.

"Tenten."

His lips were close to her ear, and her heart thunked in response.

"Let's go."

He guided her out of the kitchen, and she followed close behind him, her legs a little shaky as he led her towards his room. Her mind was throwing all sorts of scenarios at her – none of which were objectionable – and her mouth felt very dry by the time he led her into his room and closed the door.

"I wanted some peace and quiet," he said. "Why? They will be like that for hours, no doubt."

He took off his favourite green hooded shirt, revealing the oral sex t-shirt underneath, and ruffled his hair – the first signs of weariness showing on his face.

"I can't believe it was you," she said quietly. When he looked at her, she gestured to his shirt. "All this time."

He looked at her. He had caught all of the meanings.

"What even happened that night?" She asked, eyes wide.

He shook his head. "You got very drunk, and then very sick. I could not find the key to your luggage, so I got my shirt for you. I didn't change you – you managed that yourself," he added quickly.

"Oh," she nodded. Well – at least she hadn't done anything too stupid. "Sorry."

"It was no problem."

Silence.

"Thanks, Shino," Tenten said, shifting from foot to foot. His intensity was making this a little harder.

He looked surprised. "For what?"

"Everything. You've been incredible, the whole time. Since I got the job, and even before that – in school."

Shino quirked an eyebrow, amused. "You don't have to thank me for what I do with pleasure, Tenten."

"...can I thank you for the song, then?"

Shino inhaled. She could have been mistaken, but she thought she saw his cheeks colour a little. He looked at his guitar, then back at her. "Which one?"

Wow. Tenten gulped. "How...many...?"

"Perhaps I shouldn't tell you tonight," Shino said, flashing a grin so quickly she wasn't sure she actually saw it. "You look as though you might faint as it is."

"I meant Vermillion," Tenten said, blushing. More songs? Just how many were dedicated to her? It made her feel even more stupid and blind.

"I took a risk with that one," Shino admitted.

"It paid off," Tenten said, looking at him. He was standing closer than she'd realised before, and she could see the small flecks of darker gold in his eyes, his surprisingly long lashes – the small lines between his brows.

"It did?" His voice was deeper – huskier.

"Only when you sing it," she smiled. She wasn't sure who had moved, but their faces were now only inches apart.

"Thank you," he said.

"For what?" Tenten blinked.

"For what you said. For...caring."

Tenten reached up, one slightly shaking hand cupping his cheek. "You don't have to thank me for what I do with pleasure, Shino."

He smiled. A proper, genuine smile that seemed to light up his whole face even though it was restrained and showed no teeth. It was a slow thing, like a sun rising, and Tenten leant into it's warmth, feeling the heat of his breath before the glow of his lips slid over hers.

She didn't know how long they stood there like that. Wrapped in an embrace, kissing in the hotel room with only the vermillion guitar for company.

~**The End**~


End file.
